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Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 4, 2022. 

Mike Blake | Reuters

The CEO of blockchain startup Ripple sees the combined market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market topping $5 trillion this year.

Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse told CNBC that he expects the entire value of the crypto market to double, citing macro factors including the arrival of the first U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETFs), as well as the upcoming so-called bitcoin “halving.”

“I’ve been around this industry for a long time, and I’ve seen these trends come and go,” Garlinghouse told CNBC. “I’m very optimistic. I think the macro trends, the big picture things like the ETFs, they’re driving for the first time real institutional money.”

“You’re seeing that drives demand, and at the same time demand is increasing, supply is decreasing,” Garlinghouse said. “That doesn’t take an economics major to tell you what happens when supply contracts and demand expands.”

The first U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs were approved on Jan. 10 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They trade on U.S. stock exchanges and allow institutions and retail investors to gain exposure to bitcoin without directly owning the underlying asset.

The bitcoin halving is a technical event that takes place roughly every four years in bitcoin’s history. It halves the total mining reward to bitcoin miners, which are volunteers on the bitcoin network that use high-powered computers to verify transactions and mint new tokens.

The last such event took place in 2020, and the next one is slated to happen later this month.

“The overall market cap of the crypto industry … is easily predicted to to double by the end of this year … [as it’s] impacted by all of these macro factors,” Garlinghouse said.

The total crypto market capitalization was roughly $2.6 trillion as of April 4. If the market were to double, that would imply a new total crypto market cap of $5.2 trillion.

Bitcoin has risen more than 140% in the last 12 months.

It hit a record high above $73,000 on March 13, according to CoinGecko data. It has since fallen well below the $70,000 level, however.

Can ethereum topple bitcoin as the crypto king?

The world’s digital currency has been the main token driving gains for the broader market.

Bitcoin accounts for about 49% of the entire crypto market, with a market capitalization of $1.3 trillion as of April 1.

Positive signs on U.S. crypto regulation

One of the other factors that Garlinghouse sees pushing the crypto market to new highs is the possibility of positive regulatory momentum in the United States.

This year being an election year, crypto hopefuls are optimistic that the next administration will be more accommodating to the crypto industry with its policy focus.

The SEC under Chair Gary Gensler has been aggressive in its enforcement on crypto companies, including Ripple itself.

The SEC targeted Ripple with a securities lawsuit alleging it illegally sold XRP, a cryptocurrency Ripple is closely associated with, in unregistered securities deals. Ripple denies the claims and is fighting the suit.

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

Bitcoin serves different purposes for different people, says Anthony Pompliano

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Over 800 public figures, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Virgin’s Richard Branson urge AI ‘superintelligence’ ban

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Over 800 public figures, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Virgin's Richard Branson urge AI ‘superintelligence’ ban

Eakarat Buanoi | Istock | Getty Images

A group of prominent figures, including artificial intelligence and technology experts, has called for an end to efforts to create ‘superintelligence’ — a form of AI that would surpass human intellect. 

More than 800 people, including Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak and former U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice, signed a statement published Wednesday calling for a pause on the development of superintelligence. 

In a statement published Wednesday, with over 800 signatories, including prominent AI figures and the biggest names in AI, ranging from Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak to former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, called for a pause on the development of superintelligence. 

The list of signatories notably includes prominent AI leaders, including scientists like Yoshua Bengio and Geoff Hinton, who are widely considered “godfathers” of modern AI. Leading AI safety researchers like UC Berkeley’s Stuart Russell also signed on. 

Superintelligence has become a buzzword in the AI world, as companies from xAI to OpenAI compete to release more advanced large language models. Meta notably has gone so far as to name its LLM division the ‘Meta Superintelligence Labs.’ 

But signatories of the recent statement warn that the prospect of superintelligence has “raised concerns, ranging from human economic obsolescence and disempowerment, losses of freedom, civil liberties, dignity, and control, to national security risks and even potential human extinction.”

The statement calls for a prohibition on superintelligence development until strong public buy-in and a broad scientific consensus that it can be done safely and controllably is reached. 

In addition to the AI figures, the names behind the statement come from a broad coalition of academics, media personalities, religious leaders and ex-politicians. 

Other prominent names include Virgin’s Richard Branson, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, and British royal family member Meghan Markle. Prominent media allies to the U.S. President Donald Trump, including Steve Bannon and Glen Beck also signed on. 

As of Wednesday, the list of signatories was still growing.

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Netflix ‘all in’ on leveraging AI as the tech creeps into entertainment industry

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Netflix ‘all in’ on leveraging AI as the tech creeps into entertainment industry

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Netflix is “all in” on leveraging generative artificial intelligence on its streaming platform, according to the company, as AI continues to make its way into mainstream entertainment.

The comments came from Netflix’s earnings report Tuesday, which highlighted AI as a major focus for the world’s largest streaming service by subscriber count. 

“For many years now, [machine learning] and AI have been powering our title recommendations as well as production and promotion technology,” Netflix said in a letter to shareholders.

It added that generative AI presents a “significant opportunity” across its streaming platform, including improving its recommendations, ads business, and movies and TV content.

“We’re empowering creators with a broad set of GenAI tools to help them achieve their visions and deliver even more impactful titles for members,” the company said.

Netflix provided recent examples of this, noting its recently distributed film Happy Gilmore 2 used generative AI tools to help de-age characters. Meanwhile, producers for the Netflix series Billionaires’ Bunker have used various generative AI tools during pre-production to explore wardrobe and set designs.

Concerns of AI replacement

Netflix’s comments come amid broader concerns in the entertainment and art world regarding the potential for AI to replace human workers and the technology’s use of human-made content.  

Speaking during an earnings call, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos seemingly addressed those issues, noting that AI can enhance the overall TV and movie experience, but “can’t automatically make you a great storyteller if you’re not.”

“We’re confident that AI is going to help us and help our creative partners tell stories better, faster and in new ways — we’re all in on that,” Sarandos said. He added: “We’re not worried about AI replacing creativity.” 

However, many in the entertainment industry remain skeptical of AI and its growing presence in media. 

An upstart production studio called Particle6 recently faced massive backlash for its plan to create, design, manage and monetize AI-generated actors and talent, including from the media union SAG-AFTRA. 

SAG-AFTRA previously led a significant actors’ strike in July 2023, amid a broader series of Hollywood labor disputes that saw concerns about the use of artificial intelligence brought to the forefront.

The strike lasted over 100 days before a tentative agreement was reached between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which included the establishment of contractual AI protections for film and TV performers for the first time.

To further encourage the responsible use of such AI tools, Netflix recently released a new AI-focused production guidance aimed at its creators. 

Netflix falls on Q3 results: Here's what you need to know

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Samsung and Google attempt to one-up Apple with AI-powered headset

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Samsung and Google attempt to one-up Apple with AI-powered headset

Samsung Galaxy XR Headset

Courtesy: Samsung

It’s been more than 17 years since the modern smartphone era began with the launch of the iPhone, and tech companies have been obsessed with trying to disrupt it ever since.

The most common approach is mixed reality XR headsets: computerized goggles that put all of your apps and other digital content right in front of your face.

Samsung is the latest to take on the category with the Galaxy XR. Samsung will start selling it on Tuesday night for $1,800, about half the price of Apple‘s Vision Pro.

Early adopters will also get a suite of digital freebies, like free access to the paid version of Google‘s Gemini AI assistant and YouTube Premium for a year.

The headset was made in partnership with Google for the software and Qualcomm, which makes the chip powering the Galaxy XR.

Samsung Galaxy XR Headset

Courtesy: Samsung

Samsung’s Galaxy XR lets you enter an immersive, virtual computing experience where your apps and other content appear to float in your field of view. External cameras project the real world onto the tiny 4K displays in the headset, meaning you can walk around a room while wearing the Galaxy XR without bumping into anything.

You control everything with hand gestures, your voice or a mix of both.

As for the headset itself, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were looking at an Apple Vision Pro.

From the curved glass on the front of the Galaxy XR, to the metal trim and the external battery pack that dangles from the headset by a cable, it’s almost as if Samsung and Google spent the last two years reverse-engineering the Vision Pro.

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And in those two years, we’ve learned a lot about these computers for your face.

They’re niche, expensive products that most people don’t want to use, and there’s still no killer app or enough immersive content to keep you consistently entertained and justify the $2,000 or more you’re spending.

The promise of the metaverse evaporated as soon as ChatGPT came on the scene in late 2022 and the tech industry shifted its focus to artificial intelligence. Even Mark Zuckerberg, who changed his company’s name to “Meta” in 2022, barely talks about the metaverse anymore.

But Samsung has a different pitch for the Galaxy XR.

It may come with all the drawbacks of Apple or Meta’s headsets, but Samsung and Google say the Galaxy XR is really a stepping stone to AI glasses currently in development with eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster.

Those devices will rely on Google’s AI assistant Gemini, which is also central to the experience on the Galaxy XR.

Google showed an early demo of those glasses at its annual I/O event in May, but there are no details on when such a device will launch. Google also has a long track record of announcing products at I/O that never actually go on sale to the public.

Remember Google Glass? What about the Nexus Q?

Samsung Galaxy XR Headset

Courtesy: Samsung

But Google and Samsung are acting like things are different this time, and that’s why Gemini is such a big part of the Galaxy XR.

While you can control everything in the headset using hand gestures and Samsung even mimicked the same gestures Apple came up with for the Vision Pro.

The Gemini controls were, however, the most impressive portion of the Galaxy XR demo Samsung had in New York last week.

I could use Gemini to organize floating windows of apps in my virtual workspace, ask it questions about landmarks I was looking at in Google Maps, or prompt it to generate a goofy video using Veo, Google’s AI video generator that’s like OpenAI’s Sora.

Overall, the Gemini demo was flawless. It understood everything I said, even in a noisy conference room, and executed my commands quickly.

It wasn’t exactly revolutionary, but it was a step beyond the capabilities of the Vision Pro, which doesn’t have generative AI features at all.

I could see how Gemini will evolve to fit into a more comfortable and stylish form factor, like Meta has with its Ray-Ban AI glasses. And I can now understand why Apple has reportedly changed its plans from developing a new version of the Vision Pro in favor of AI glasses that are expected to launch in 2026.

Samsung Galaxy XR Headset

Courtesy: Samsung

Now for the major downside.

Gemini runs in the cloud, meaning you must give it permission to “see” everything you do on your headset by transmitting it over the internet to Google’s servers. Google doesn’t have the same private cloud technology Apple has for its AI systems, so you risk sharing a lot of personal information about what you do on your device with the company. That’s going to be a nonstarter for many people.

Even though you can see the promise of AI-powered glasses, they’re even more of a niche product than immersive headsets, much smaller than smartphones, laptops or tablets.

Meta, the market leader for the category, only sold 2 million pairs of its Ray-Ban glasses in the first two years. By comparison, Apple sells well over 200 million iPhones a year. We’re a long way off from glasses becoming a must-have accessory to your phone like wireless earbuds or a smartwatch.

And as impressive as Gemini is so far, a future where the smartphone is replaced by an AI device like glasses has never felt further away.

The headset wars: How Apple Vision Pro stacks up against competition

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