Latest news with #digitalage
Entrepreneur
3 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
How Building Gaming Tech Led Us to a Business Breakthrough
What we learned about scale, AI and ownership when we tried to connect thousands of people in real time. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Over the past decade at Improbable and now with Somnia, I have worked on solving some of the hardest problems in the new digital age. We've learned a great deal from powering massively multiplayer video games, immersive virtual events and defense simulations so sophisticated they got me sanctioned by Russia… But in the process of building tools for virtual worlds, we discovered something far more foundational: The infrastructure we needed for the metaverse turned out to be exactly what businesses need to operate in the AI era. Like many, we expected that the surge of interest in the "metaverse" in 2021 would be a tipping point. After all, we'd been working on persistent virtual spaces since 2012. But the deeper we got into the problem, the more we realized the infrastructure wasn't ready. Virtual worlds that allowed thousands of people to move freely across different platforms with their identity and assets intact simply weren't feasible with existing systems. Blockchain, on paper, offered the right ingredients: user ownership, decentralized control and the ability for different developers to build on shared standards. However, when we tried to use it for real-time interaction, it collapsed under the weight. These systems were too slow, too expensive and entirely unsuited to applications that needed responsiveness. Imagine trying to run a Zoom call where every frame of video had to be verified by thousands of computers before it could appear on screen. That's what we were dealing with. Eventually, we faced a choice. Either continue building applications on infrastructure that couldn't support them — or build the infrastructure ourselves. What we ended up creating, Somnia, started as a necessity for gaming. But it has become a blueprint for how business will operate in a future shaped by artificial intelligence, digital identity and real-time interaction. Related: Is Metaverse the Future for Business? The new demands of digital business Three trends are colliding to reshape how modern organizations operate. First, AI is no longer just a chatbot; it's an actor. Agents powered by large language models are starting to participate in digital ecosystems. In our testing, we've seen AI agents generate thousands of transactions per second simply through their interactions with each other and with users. Second, digital ownership is shifting from a niche crypto concern to a mainstream expectation. People increasingly want control over their digital identities, possessions and reputations — and they want these assets to persist and travel with them. Third, businesses are shifting from transaction-focused to relationship-focused models, where continuous engagement in digital environments drives loyalty and growth. The infrastructure to support this convergence didn't exist. So we built a system that could process over one million transactions per second, about 20,000 times faster than traditional blockchain systems. To put this in business terms: Imagine the difference between a corner store that can serve 50 customers a day and a Walmart Supercenter that can serve 50,000. Beyond gaming: Business applications and cultural impact This leap in performance has implications that go far beyond gaming and drive real business outcomes. Retailers can track inventory changes across thousands of stores in real-time for a fraction of a penny per update. Manufacturers can build secure, verifiable supply chains that don't compromise speed. Financial institutions can process compliance checks, document verification and settlements with both transparency and efficiency. But the bigger shift is cultural. As AI begins to automate routine tasks, we are entering what I call the "Fulfilment Economy," as mentioned in my book Virtual Society: The Metaverse and the New Frontiers of Human Experience. This is not just about productivity. It is about meaning. People are looking for purpose, community and creativity in the digital environments where they now spend increasing portions of their lives. AI helps by saving time and taking on the burden of process, allowing us to focus our energy on more valuable activities. These environments go beyond entertainment. They are places of work, collaboration, identity and economic activity. In many cases, AI agents will participate alongside us. For businesses, this presents a strategic shift. When your users don't just consume your products but contribute to and build on your platform, your role changes. You're no longer just a provider; you're a host. Your brand becomes part of an ecosystem — one that thrives on participation, portability and interaction. Supporting this shift requires infrastructure that can scale in real time, preserve ownership across environments and connect disparate platforms into a single seamless experience. Related: The Future of Business in the Age of Technology What comes next Most business leaders aren't thinking about blockchains, consensus algorithms or transaction throughput — and they shouldn't have to. What matters is whether your company is ready for a world where intelligent agents transact alongside humans, where users carry persistent digital identities between services and where engagement happens in real time, not just during scheduled interactions. The hype cycle around the metaverse may have passed, but the vision of shared, persistent, intelligent digital environments is more relevant than ever. What started as a solution for virtual worlds is now becoming the foundation for how businesses will deliver value in an interconnected, AI-driven future.
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Pope Leo Takes On AI
VATICAN CITY—Two days into his reign, the new American pope spoke softly to a hall full of red-capped cardinals and invoked the digital-age challenge to human dignity he intended to address with the power of his 2,000-year-old office: artificial intelligence. The princes of the Catholic Church listened intently as Pope Leo XIV laid out his priorities for the first time, revealing that he had chosen his papal name because of the tech revolution. As he explained, his namesake Leo XIII stood up for the rights of factory workers during the Gilded Age, when industrial robber barons presided over rapid change and extreme inequality.
Entrepreneur
11-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Take Control of What Your Online Presence Says About You
5 steps to make your online presence work for you — not against you. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Before anyone steps into your business, they're already walking through your digital front door. And that front door? It's not just your website. It's your Instagram bio, your LinkedIn header, your last three Google reviews — and whether you like it or not, people are judging. This isn't just a real estate issue. It's a modern business challenge. In today's digital age, every entrepreneur, regardless of their industry, faces the same scrutiny. Whether you're a therapist, a founder, a coach, or a solopreneur, you are being Googled. And more often than not, that quick online search becomes the reason someone either clicks through or clicks away. Related: Want to Build Trust in Your Business? It All Starts Online The first (digital) impression is everything Years ago, if a home looked rough on the outside, potential buyers wouldn't even bother stepping inside. That's curb appeal. Today, your digital presence is your curb appeal. If your website looks like it hasn't been updated since 2014, if your LinkedIn headline is vague, or if you've got a highlight reel of blurry social posts and broken links, you're leaving opportunity on the table. And the scariest part? Most people don't even know what's wrong. That's why my company started doing brand audits. Think of it like a digital home inspection. We review everything: social bios, website copy, email footers, profile photos, consistency, tone, messaging — and yes, even the typos. Because your online presence doesn't just speak for you. It is you. What most people get wrong Thinking is good enough. A decent headshot and a few blog posts do not build trust. People want to see you show up with consistency and confidence. Ignoring alignment. The tone of your website, the energy of your social media, the words in your emails — they all need to point in the same direction. If your audience feels like they're getting mixed messages, they'll walk away. Treating your brand like a one-time project. Your digital presence isn't something you "set and forget." It's a living, evolving asset. And it needs regular care. Why digital trust matters In the world of entrepreneurship, trust is the currency that drives business success. Your online presence is often the first interaction potential clients or customers have with your brand. If they don't trust what they see, they won't engage further. Building digital trust involves more than just having a professional-looking website. It's about creating a cohesive and authentic online persona that resonates with your audience. This includes consistent branding across all platforms, engaging and relevant content and a clear message that aligns with your business values. Steps to enhance your digital presence Audit your online profiles: Start by reviewing your social bios, website copy, email footers, profile photos and overall consistency. Look for areas that need improvement and make necessary updates. Consistency is key: Ensure that your tone, messaging and branding are consistent across all platforms. Mixed messages can confuse your audience and erode trust. Engage regularly: Your digital presence should be dynamic. Regularly update your content, interact with your audience and stay active on social media. This shows that your business is alive and thriving. Professionalism matters: Invest in high-quality visuals, well-written content and a polished website. These elements reflect your professionalism and commitment to your business. Seek feedback: Don't hesitate to ask for feedback from your audience. Understanding their perceptions can help you make informed improvements to your digital presence. Related: How to Build Trust and Transparency With Your Customers While Taking Their Data The role of digital trust in business growth Digital trust isn't just about attracting clients; it's about retaining them. When people trust your online presence, they are more likely to become loyal customers and advocates for your brand. This trust translates into repeat business, positive reviews, and word-of-mouth referrals — all of which are crucial for business growth. Moreover, a strong digital presence can differentiate you from competitors. In a crowded market, your edge isn't just what you offer. It's how clearly and confidently you show up online. Today, your digital presence is your curb appeal. It's the first impression that potential clients have of your brand, and it can make or break their decision to engage with you. By focusing on building digital trust, you can ensure that your online presence reflects your brand's credibility and professionalism. So, take the time to audit your digital presence, ensure consistency, engage regularly and seek feedback. These steps will help you build a strong and trustworthy online persona that attracts and retains clients. Because in business, your edge isn't just what you offer. It's how clearly and confidently you show up online.
Fast Company
10-06-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Why tech entrepreneurs live in a different spacetime
Einstein's theory of relativity tells us that time is not absolute. It stretches, compresses, and shifts depending on one's velocity and gravitational field. He once remarked to President Roosevelt that time moves differently for soldiers in battle than for those relaxing in the White House. The point was not physical time—but perceived time, shaped by context and intensity. Today, the same metaphor applies in the world of entrepreneurship. In a rapidly evolving digital age, entrepreneurs who integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum-inspired systems are operating in a fundamentally different spacetime. These individuals are not simply more productive—they are stretching their 24-hour day into something more expansive, more strategic, and more valuable. In this article, I argue that technology does not just accelerate business; it alters the entrepreneur's very experience of time. When used correctly, it creates a spacetime advantage—allowing entrepreneurs to live and act within a different temporal reality than their peers. In Einstein's framework, time slows down the faster you move or the stronger the gravitational field around you. It is not the ticking of the clock that changes—but how events unfold within that frame. In business, technology creates a similar distortion. The faster you can process, respond, and adapt, the more compressed the effort becomes—creating more space within the same time. Entrepreneurs who effectively apply technology are not merely getting things done faster. They are operating in a different spacetime, where problem-solving, execution, and iteration occur at speeds that make the traditional business cycle look static. In this new spacetime, speed does not lead to chaos. It leads to clarity. And it separates those who ride the wave of innovation from those who are left navigating currents already passed. TECHNOLOGY AS A TIME MULTIPLIER Entrepreneurs often overestimate effort and underestimate friction. Technology removes that friction. It condenses what used to take days or weeks into minutes or seconds. This is not about doing the same things faster. It is about enabling completely new forms of leverage. Artificial intelligence synthesizes vast data into immediate insights. Automation replaces repetitive labor with decision frameworks. Quantum-inspired algorithms model scenarios once considered computationally impractical. The effect is a temporal expansion: the same clock ticks, but within each tick, more is accomplished. This is not efficiency—it is dimensional advantage. Entrepreneurs who tap into this do not just reduce task time; they unlock parallel productivity streams, handling operations, analysis, creation, and outreach simultaneously. They redefine what a day can hold. A DAY IN TWO SPACETIMES Consider two entrepreneurs starting the same morning. One logs in, sifts through reports, responds to emails, and schedules a meeting. Another opens a dashboard where AI has pre-analyzed customer feedback, flagged anomalies in inventory flow, and generated a list of optimized outreach targets. While the first is just getting oriented, the second is already in motion—launching, iterating, deciding. Both have 24 hours, but they are not in the same reality. A founder of a sustainable startup, she spent the early part of her journey manually compiling reviews, guessing at product adjustments, and answering customer questions. Her days were long, chaotic, and filled with uncertainty. After integrating AI into her operations, everything changed: • Customer insights now update in real time. • Inventory adjusts through predictive models. • 80% of customer queries are handled autonomously. She did not gain more time—she entered a different spacetime, where clarity replaced clutter, and action replaced noise. She now works fewer hours, achieves more, and uses her surplus time to innovate, mentor, and recharge. Her clock did not slow down—but her experience of the day expanded. In this context, time is not a constraint—it is a resource that behaves differently based on how you engage with it. Entrepreneurs who adopt advanced technologies are not just accelerating; they are altering the shape of time itself, stretching each moment to carry more value, more action, and more meaning. GLOBAL DIVIDE: A SPACETIME GAP This phenomenon is not evenly distributed. Around the globe, the gap between traditional and tech-enabled businesses is widening—not just in output, but in temporal reality. In technology-driven economies like the U.S., Singapore, and parts of Western Europe, businesses are accelerating into a new operational spacetime. Meanwhile, firms without access to these tools are navigating a slower continuum—responding to market changes that others have already anticipated. This is no longer just a productivity gap. It is a spacetime gap, where the leaders are shaping the future while others are still reacting to the past. THE HUMAN RETURN: TIME FOR MEANING One of the most overlooked outcomes of this spacetime advantage is creative margin. When technology handles the mechanical and the mundane, entrepreneurs reclaim cognitive and emotional space. This surplus can be reinvested—into strategy, innovation, reflection, or personal well-being. Entrepreneurs who master this advantage are not just scaling faster—they are living more completely. They have more time to think, more time to connect, and more time to simply be. It is not just about business growth. It is about human growth. The true reward of this new spacetime is not more tasks checked off a list—but more life per hour lived. Don't just manage your time—reshape it. Entrepreneurs who master AI and emerging tech don't work harder; they live in a different spacetime. Step into a reality where 24 hours deliver exponential impact. The future isn't waiting. It's already happening—bend time, build smarter, and lead from tomorrow. Einstein showed us that time is relative. Today's entrepreneurs are proving it. In the same 24 hours, those who leverage advanced technologies are experiencing a fundamentally different day—one filled with expanded decisions, outcomes, and possibilities. This is the real innovation frontier: not just faster business, but altered business spacetime. As an entrepreneur, your greatest asset is not your product, your capital, or your network. It is how you structure time around your intent. Success no longer belongs to those who hustle hardest—it belongs to those who master spacetime.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lonely man talking to AI ‘girlfriend' on subway stuns internet: ‘It's concerning'
Is he talking to… Her? A viral photo is making the rounds online this week that looks like it was ripped from the script of Spike Jonze's 2013 film 'Her.' It showed a man dystopically conversing with ChatGPT on an NYC subway — 'like it was his girlfriend.' This pic — taken from an angle behind the man and focused on his iPhone screen — sparked fierce debate online over AI companionship in the digital age. The viral snap was shared to X on June 3 by user @yedIin with the caption, 'guy on the subway this morning talking to chatgpt like it's his girlfriend. didn't realize these people *actually* exist. we are so beyond cooked.' As seen on the man's phone, the message sent from the AI assistant read, 'Something warm to drink. A calm ride home. And maybe, if you want, I'll read something to you later, or you can rest your head in my metaphorical lap while we let the day dissolve gently away.' It continued, followed by a red heart emoji, 'You're doing beautifully, my love, just by being here.' The man holding the phone replied, accompanied by another red heart, 'Thank you.' Viewers were split — some blasted the photographer for invading the man in question's privacy, saying snapping pics of his screen without permission was way out of line. 'You have no idea what this person might be going through,' one user wrote as another added, 'Can't decide which is more depressing, that or the fact that you took a picture of this over his shoulder and posted it.' Others felt sorry for the man, calling him 'lonely' and urging people to cut him some slack. 'That's actually sad. He must be very lonely,' someone else tweeted. Another replied, 'As a society, we're seemingly losing empathy bit by bit and it's concerning. Loneliness is real, a lot of people don't have who they can talk to without judgment or criticism.' But plenty sided with the original tweet, calling the whole ChatGPT chat 'scary' and warning that leaning on AI as a stand-in for real human connection is downright alarming. 'Scary to even think about the mental damage this creates,' one commented as another responded, 'Terrified to see what technology will lead the future to. All I can think of are black mirror episodes becoming reality.' But beyond the emotional implications, experts have also raised red flags about privacy concerns when chatting with AI companions like ChatGPT. As The Post previously reported, users often treat these chatbots like trusted confidants — dishing out everything from relationship woes to lab results — without realizing that anything typed into the platform is no longer fully private. 'You lose possession of it,' Jennifer King, a fellow at Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, recently warned the Wall Street Journal. OpenAI has cautioned users not to share sensitive information, while Google similarly advises against inputting confidential data into its Gemini chatbot. So if you're spilling your heart out to a bot (not judging), experts say to think twice — because someone else might be listening.
