Hello,In today's issue, you can find the article "The Poverty of AI Pessimism" by Jim O’Neill, former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and former UK treasury minister.Enjoy your reading.

The best articles on technology at Aposto, curated by our editors. Topics include startup news, AI, fintech, gadgets, and more. 

The best articles on technology at Aposto, curated by our editors.

Aposto Tech

While sound regulation is obviously needed, scare-mongering could do more harm than good.

The Poverty of AI Pessimism

Hello,The thematic focus of tech diplomacy implies the need for new strategies of engagement with emerging powers. In this issue, you can find the article "AI, Democracy, and the Global Order" by Provost of IE University and Dean of the IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs Manuel Muñiz and President of the Observer Research Foundation Samir Saran.Enjoy your reading.

The thematic focus of tech diplomacy implies the need for new strategies of engagement with emerging powers. 

AI, Democracy, and the Global Order

<div data-pp-location="article opener" fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hello,The largest-ever analysis of Google’s ad practices on non-English-language websites reveals how the tech giant makes disinformation profitable.</div><div data-pp-location="article meta" fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div data-pp-location="article story-tools" fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div data-pp-location="share tools" fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.propublica.org/article/google-alphabet-ads-fund-disinformation-covid-elections&amp;text=How%20Google%E2%80%99s%20Ad%20Business%20Funds%20Disinformation%20Around%20the%20World" target="_blank" fr-original-style="" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;"></a>Enjoy your reading.&nbsp;</div></div></div>

The largest-ever analysis of Google’s ad practices on non-English-language websites reveals how the tech giant makes disinformation profitable.

How Google’s Ad Business Funds Disinformation Around the World

From steam power and electricity to computers and the internet, technological advancements have always disrupted labor markets, pushing out some jobs while creating others. Artificial intelligence remains something of a misnomer – the smartest computer systems still don’t actually know anything – but the technology has reached an&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2023/1/4/23538647/artificial-intelligence-chatgpt-openai-google-meta-facial-recognition" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">inflection point</a> where it’s poised to affect new classes of jobs: artists and knowledge workers.Specifically, the emergence of large language models – AI systems that are trained on vast amounts of text – means computers can now produce human-sounding written language and convert descriptive phrases into realistic images. The Conversation asked five artificial intelligence researchers to discuss how large language models are likely to affect artists and knowledge workers. And, as our experts noted, the technology is far from perfect, which raises a host of issues – from misinformation to plagiarism – that affect human workers.

5 experts on what ChatGPT, DALL-E and other AI tools mean for artists and knowledge workers

AI and the future of work

In today's article, Aposto's technology editor İrem Denli takes a look at the technology war between the US and China, and analyse the repercussions of this fierce competition.Enjoy your reading,Aposto Editorial Team

What is the latest situation in the technology war between the US and China? What will be the future repercussions of the steps and measures taken by the US against China?

⚔️ War of the Giants

Hello everyone!In this issue, we take a look at Matterport, which serves in many different areas such as real estate, aviation, accommodation, insurance, architecture, cultural tourism and is expected to have a say in the Metaverse.Enjoy!Aposto Editorial Team

An initiative from Stanford to shape the future of real estate and the Metaverse: introducing Matterport.

📸 Analysis: Matterport

Hello everyone,In this issue, we will talk about one of the worst realities of our day: Online child abuse. We will see how abusers&nbsp;stalk and abuse children, what kind of measures&nbsp;online streaming platforms take, and how we can protect children.Keep children safe,Aposto Editorial Team

Based on an analysis of Twitch profile data, screenshots, and videos conducted by a researcher between October 2020 and August 2022, at least 1,976 adult users systematically found and followed young users on Twitch during that time.

The darkest side of the Internet: Child abuse

Hello,This week, our tech editor İrem Denli writes about Internet censorship.Enjoy your reading,Aposto Editorial Team

How and for what purpose do governments censor the Internet? Which methods are most commonly used to censor the Internet?

How and why: Internet held 'captive' by governments

Hello, again!In this issue, we will look at the ‘e-sports’ sector, another sector that is linked to the gaming sector and continues to grow rapidly in direct proportion to it, while talking about its brief history, audience, and market value.&nbsp;Enjoy!Aposto Editorial Team

E-sports stands for the world of organised video games in which professional players or teams in professional leagues compete within the framework of competition. E-athletes from different leagues compete fiercely in popular video games.

Will e-sports be an alternative to football?

Hello again,This year, Elizabeth Holmes, the former founder of Theranos which is the subject to the biggest fraud case that Silicon Valley has ever witnessed, was sentenced to 11 years in prison as a result of the trial that had been going on for years. Thus, Holmes, who entered from the top among the most brilliant entrepreneurs of an era, ended up in prison.With the conclusion of Holmes' case, we decided to take a look at the new rising trend in the world of TV series, namely business and startup dramas, that shed light on the founding of startups.Enjoy!Aposto Editorial Team

Since last year, we spot a new trend that is rapidly emerging among producers: Productions based on actual events that revolve around the rapid rise and often just as rapid collapse of startups.

📺 Technology and drama: Business and startup dramas

Teknoloji hakkında yayımlanmış makaleler ve yayınlar

Teknoloji

LONDON – Hardly a week goes by without various&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/technology/ai-google-chatbot-engineer-quits-hinton.html" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">pioneers in artificial intelligence</a> issuing&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/30/23742005/ai-risk-warning-22-word-statement-google-deepmind-openai" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">dire warnings</a> about the technology that they introduced to the world. I got an early glimpse of this emerging pessimistic consensus a couple of months ago, when I attended a dinner with some AI experts who suggested that millions of relatively sophisticated, high-paying jobs could be at risk. I came away asking if this bleak outlook is really justified.I have my doubts. Since the start of my professional life in the 1980s (and of course for much longer), technological progress has repeatedly been held up as a major threat to jobs in key industries such as automobile manufacturing. Yet until the Brexit debacle, the United Kingdom was producing more vehicles than it did in the supposed heyday of the auto industry, owing to the role of sophisticated new technologies in boosting leading producers’ core businesses. In the northern English port city of Sunderland, Nissan currently&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-advice/beginners-guide-nissan-sunderland" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">operates</a> one of the most productive auto plants in the world.Likewise, despite German autoworkers commanding relatively higher nominal wages, the country’s carmakers have managed to adapt and thrive for decades, competing globally and helping to satisfy a growing global middle class’s demand for high-quality performance vehicles. Yes, German auto companies face their biggest challenge yet with the global transition to electric vehicles, and the slowdown in China implies weaker growth in the short term. But if the past is any guide, the industry could adapt and emerge even stronger in the future.AI doomsayers also ignore the fact that populations are&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023/05/30/its-not-just-a-fiscal-fiasco-greying-economies-also-innovate-less" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">aging fast</a> across most of the developed world and many major developing and emerging economies. With the growth of the labor force slowing at a time when people are also living longer, there will be more and more pressure on smaller working-age populations to finance pensions, health care, and other (typically) nondiscretionary commitments.Unless this smaller working population can become more productive, the economy’s growth performance will struggle. Japan and Italy are two stand-out examples of this trend from the past few decades, but they are hardly alone. Among others, China, South Korea, and most of continental Europe are in the same boat. While immigration offers a partial solution, it is an increasingly charged political issue. Productivity-enhancing AI applications could be precisely what is needed.Moreover, just look at what has been happening at the UK’s treasured National Health Service, which is eating up ever more of the country’s finances. The NHS employs&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-numbers-of-staff-working-in-the-nhs" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">more people than ever</a>, yet it is becoming less and less productive. We in the UK are exposed to endless horror stories about the NHS’s failings and what they mean for citizens seeking care.Having dug into this issue as a member of the&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/times-health-commission-explained-objective-commissioners-bvl2937gf" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Times Health Commission</a>, it is obvious to me that the NHS needs a dramatic uptake of modern technology to help with simple tasks (such as getting one computer system to talk to another), as well as more complicated ones. For example, embedding high-speed, AI-augmented diagnostics across the system could help to detect disease risks and provide earlier treatment – preferably through pharmacies or general practitioners. Such interventions would vastly improve both productivity and quality of care.We already have early but extremely powerful evidence of what AI could do for public health globally. According to a May 25 BBC&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-65709834" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">story</a>, a group of scientists in Canada and the United States have used AI to&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ai-that-developed-antibiotic-could-also-neutralize-unions-by-yanis-varoufakis-2023-06" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">discover</a> a new antibiotic that is proving effective (so far) against&nbsp;Acinetobacter baumannii, one of the known antimicrobial-resistant superbugs on the World Health Organization’s watch list.Having led the UK’s independent&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://amr-review.org/" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Review on AMR</a> from 2014 to 2016, I am highly encouraged by this development. The drug will still have to go through the usual clinical trials, which is a lengthy and expensive process. But if all goes well, it will be the first time in decades that we have acquired a genuinely effective antibiotic for use against deadly superbugs. Now imagine what else AI could do just in the realm of medicine – from helping to discover or develop vaccines for hitherto unpreventable diseases to streamlining the clinical-trial process more broadly.Of course, the AI experts are surely correct that we will need guardrails and high standards of regulation, lest this latest wave of innovation cause social, political, and economic havoc. The current era of round-the-clock social media, clickbait, and fake news has little to recommend it, and makes much of the pessimism understandable. But that is no reason to ignore the obvious, massive potential benefits of AI.<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Jim O’Neill, a former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a former UK treasury minister, is a member of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development.<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2023. <a fr-original-style="" href="http://www.project-syndicate.org/" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">www.project-syndicate.org</a>

Following the public release of powerful generative AI applications like ChatGPT, a growing chorus of pioneers in the field has spoken up to highlight the dangers that the technology poses to economic stability. But while sound regulation is obviously needed, scare-mongering could do more harm than good.

By Manuel Muñiz &amp; Samir SaranMADRID/NEW DELHI – Future historians may well mark the second half of March 2023 as the moment when the era of artificial intelligence truly began. In the space of just two weeks, the world witnessed the launch of GPT-4, Bard, Claude, Midjourney V5, Security Copilot, and many other AI tools that have surpassed almost everyone’s expectations. These new AI models’ apparent sophistication has beaten most experts’ predictions by a decade.For centuries, breakthrough innovations – from the invention of the printing press and the steam engine to the rise of air travel and the internet – have propelled economic development, expanded access to information, and vastly improved health care and other essential services. But such transformative developments have also had negative implications, and the rapid deployment of AI tools will be no different.AI can perform tasks that individuals are loathe to do. It can also deliver education and health care to millions of people who are neglected under existing frameworks. And it can greatly enhance research and development, potentially ushering in a new golden age of innovation. But it also can supercharge the production and dissemination of fake news; displace human labor on a large scale; and create dangerous, disruptive tools that are potentially inimical to our very existence.Specifically, many believe that the arrival of artificial general intelligence (AGI) – an AI that can teach itself to perform any cognitive task that humans can do – will pose an existential threat to humanity. A carelessly designed AGI (or one governed by unknown “black box” processes) could carry out its tasks in ways that compromise fundamental elements of our humanity. After that, what it means to be human could come to be mediated by AGI.Clearly, AI and other emerging technologies call for better governance, especially at the global level. But diplomats and international policymakers have historically treated technology as a “sectoral” matter best left to energy, finance, or defense ministries – a myopic perspective that is reminiscent of how, until recently, climate governance was viewed as the exclusive preserve of scientific and technical experts. Now, with climate debates commanding center stage, climate governance is seen as a superordinate domain that comprises many others, including foreign policy. Accordingly, today’s governance architecture aims to reflect the global nature of the issue, with all its nuances and complexities.As discussions at the G7’s recent summit in Hiroshima <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/20/g7-summit-artificial-intelligence-ai/" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">suggest</a>, technological governance will require a similar approach. After all, AI and other emerging technologies will dramatically change the sources, distribution, and projection of power around the world. They will allow for novel offensive and defensive capabilities, and create entirely new domains for collision, contest, and conflict – including in cyberspace and outer space. And they will determine what we consume, inevitably concentrating the returns from economic growth in some regions, industries, and firms, while depriving others of similar opportunities and capabilities.Importantly, technologies such as AI will have a substantial impact on fundamental rights and freedoms, our relationships, the issues we care about, and even our most dearly held beliefs. With its feedback loops and reliance on our own data, AI models will exacerbate existing biases and strain many countries’ already tenuous social contracts.That means our response must include numerous international accords. For example, ideally we would forge new agreements (at the level of the United Nations) to limit the use of certain technologies on the battlefield. A treaty banning lethal autonomous weapons outright would be a good start; agreements to regulate cyberspace – especially offensive actions conducted by autonomous bots – will also be necessary.New trade regulations are also imperative. Unfettered exports of certain technologies can give governments powerful tools to suppress dissent and radically augment their military capabilities. Moreover, we still need to do a much better job of ensuring a level playing field in the digital economy, including through appropriate taxation of such activities.As G7 leaders already seem to recognize, with the stability of open societies possibly at stake, it is in democratic countries’ interest to develop a common approach to AI regulation. Governments are now acquiring unprecedented abilities to manufacture consent and manipulate opinion. When combined with massive surveillance systems, the analytical power of advanced AI tools can create technological leviathans: all-knowing states and corporations with the power to shape citizen behavior and repress it, if necessary, within and across borders. It is important not only to support UNESCO’s efforts to create a global framework for AI ethics, but also to push for a global Charter of Digital Rights.The thematic focus of tech diplomacy implies the need for new strategies of engagement with emerging powers. For example, how Western economies approach their partnerships with the world’s largest democracy, India, could make or break the success of such diplomacy. India’s economy will probably be the world’s <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.voanews.com/a/forecasts-show-india-may-become-world-s-third-largest-economy-by-2030/6875735.html" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">third largest</a> (after the United States and China) by 2028. Its growth has been extraordinary, much of it reflecting prowess in information technology and the digital economy. More to the point, India’s views on emerging technologies matter immensely. How it regulates and supports advances in AI will determine how billions of people use it.Engaging with India is a priority for both the US and the European Union, as evidenced by the recent US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) and the EU-India Trade and Technology Council, which met in Brussels this month. But ensuring that these efforts succeed will require a reasonable accommodation of cultural and economic contexts and interests. Appreciating such nuances will help us achieve a prosperous and secure digital future. The alternative is an AI-generated free for all.<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Manuel Muñiz is Provost of IE University and Dean of the IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs. Samir Saran is President of the Observer Research Foundation.<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2023. <a fr-original-style="" href="http://www.project-syndicate.org/" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">www.project-syndicate.org</a>

In today's article, Aposto's technology editor İrem Denli takes a look at the technology war between the US and China, and analyse the repercussions of this fierce competition.

War of Technology: USA vs. China

<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2023/0/3/1674636851541.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.51" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Today, I would like to talk about Matterport Inc., which we often hear about when talking about the Metaverse with companies claiming to be the Metaverse of the future, or announcing they are moving their brand to the Metaverse over the last three years. Matterport stands out with its potential to serve all these ‘Metaverses’ separately.Matterport is working on processing images and transferring them to the digital world with its artificial intelligence with patented, deep learning artificial neural networks, which it calls Cortex AI and defines itself as a ‘spatial data’ company.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2023/0/3/1674637033526.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.60" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Cortex AITo put it more simply, with the comprehensive 3D data platform it has developed, it creates the digital twins of the world we live in and serves in many areas, such as design, construction, operation, and marketing. For example, if you have recently visited real estate sites, you may have seen virtual tours as well as photos while examining some real estate, and one of the companies that serves to create these virtual tours is Matterport.Matterport was founded in late 2010 by Matt Bell, a graduate of Stanford computer engineering, and began its life in 2011 with the addition of David Gauseback from PayPal, with two co-founders. In the winter of 2012, they had the opportunity to develop their products and networks by participating in the Y Combinator camp, perhaps the most important startup acceleration program and fund in the world. Today, with nearly 500 employees, the company, which is still striving to perfect the user experience by developing new products, both sells its own cameras and makes its platforms available. It also offers integration with its own applications and contracted 3rd party camera manufacturers on mobile phones and diversifies its revenues through the subscription it sells to the end user and creates monthly recurring revenue (MRR).<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2023/0/3/1674637121423.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.51" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">The point where Matterport, which provides services in different fields, such as real estate, aviation, accommodation, insurance, architecture, and cultural tourism, differs from other companies doing this job: Being ahead of its competitors in many topics and being able to give its customers an end-to-end solution in a much simpler and faster way by including the features it distinguishes from them in its platform. For example, the 3D image processing technology they developed; After completing the shooting of a house, it allows design, object placement, etc. to be performed on the data obtained from the measurements they have carried out very precisely. Again, by defining the depth and coordinates correctly, it is possible to preview the house, whose images are created by sizing it from different angles in the ‘doll house’ format.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2023/0/3/1674637163785.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.51" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">'Matterport Dollhouse'To talk about the sectors that use Matterport's technology; After downloading the application to their mobile phones, real estate agents can complete the shooting of a house in a relatively short time such as 1 hour by using Matterport's tripod set, while offering potential buyers the opportunity to experience the house with laptop/mobile phone/VR devices without the need to visit the homes. In doing so, consultants develop their brand identities.In aviation, KLM Airlines, which creates digital twins of all its aircraft using Matterport, can save money and reduce its carbon footprint by moving crew training online.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2023/0/3/1674637224931.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.60" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">‘KLM dollhouse!’In the short-term accommodation sector, where competition is increasing, Sonder company cooperates with Matterport to distinguish itself from its competitors and offer a better experience, enriching the houses they offer with virtual tours and making user choices more stable.In the insurance sector, many companies can make their determinations more accurately while saving personnel mobility by including visuals used in their documentation both proactively and after any incident.While Matterport provides the opportunity to offer new experiences to its users in its recent company acquisitions, it pays attention to include companies that can work integratedly. In this way, it went to the field with VHT Studios, the real estate media service it recently purchased, started to provide shooting services and quickly increased its revenues. By acquiring Enview, which develops artificial intelligence on 3D scaling, they aim to improve their prediction and analysis capabilities.According to the data they announced in their 2022 3rd quarter presentation files, the company, which is in the customer group that pays only 63 thousand of its 657 thousand users, states that they have viewed 2.5 billion m2 area in 177 countries so far. Considering that global real estate has digital penetrations of less than 0.1%, there are many more doors they can open.When we examine the company's financial statements, we see that there are three main revenue items: subscription, service sales and product sales. We observe that Matterport focuses on increasing its sales through platform subscription in order to increase its financial efficiency&nbsp;and that product sales remain stable. Although the company does not have a high debt ratio with a total of 535 million dollars in revolving assets and a total of 55 million dollar liability, the fact that it faces a quarterly loss of 35-60 million dollars creates dissatisfaction among investors.When we round up the annual revenue of 38 million dollars announced in the last quarterly report, it seems unlikely to me that a company that generates revenue between 150-160 million dollars will move to operational profitability in the near future. Investors are probably also worth a company with rapid growth potential like Matterport with 790 million &nbsp;dollars in the market versus a book value of 606 million dollars, probably because of the need for cash that they think will occur in the coming years. It can be considered a very low valuation for a company that goes public with a valuation of 2.9 billion dollars after an investment of 640 million dollars through SPAC, but they are not wrong.In order for the concept of ‘Metaverse’, which I mentioned at the beginning of my article, to be embodied, companies that want to carry the twin of their physical world to the digital world have either met or will meet Matterport in the near future. In this way, Matterport will, of course, improve its revenue models in this area in the coming years. I don't know how marginal the revenues it will generate from here will benefit its total revenues, but I think that Matterport can always be a purchase target even if they are not direct competitors for leading companies in the field such as Meta, Apple, Amazon and Autodesk thanks to the position it will acquire and the technologies it continues to develop.<h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Moral of the story</h2>As I mentioned above, the company's founder, Matt Bell, is a graduate of Stanford University computer engineering. As we have done so far, we continue to think about the founders, the companies they have built on the problems they want to solve, and the experts' expertise by putting them at the centre of the discussion. So far, almost all of the founders have graduated from some of the most prestigious universities in the world, and many of them have been cutting-edge. These people have experienced the pleasure of growing and succeeding their companies while serving the ecosystem they are in.– Encore<h4 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Footnote:&nbsp;The author does not have an investment in the above-mentioned company and will not have in the next 6 months.</h4>

In order for the concept of ‘Metaverse’ to be embodied, companies that want to carry the twin of their physical world to the digital world have either met or will meet Matterport in the near future.

Physical form of the Metaverse: Matterport

On 21 September 2022, Bloomberg published a far-reaching <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-twitch-problem-with-child-predators/?sref=6UP70zYf&utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">report</a> revealing how child molesters systematically stalk children on Twitch, Amazon's online streaming platform. According to an analysis of Twitch profile data, screenshots, and videos conducted by a researcher between October 2020 and August 2022, at least 1,976 adult users systematically found and followed young users who live-streamed on Twitch during that time. The findings of the study demonstrate that these adult users, each with more than 1,000 children in their follow list, followed a total of 27,916 children and manipulated them, convincing them to perform everything from obscene dances to explicit sexual acts on live broadcast. The report also cites the average daily number of children targeted by abusers on Twitch in July 2022 alone as 673.Recently, following the criticism, Twitch <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-22/amazon-s-twitch-makes-changes-to-prevent-child-predation?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">announced&nbsp;</a>some changes to the platform to increase the safety of young users. Stating that harassers are not welcome on the platform and will never be tolerated, Twitch stated that new practices have been introduced to ensure the safety of children on the platform, including mandatory phone verification to prevent children from opening accounts and a strengthened technology that detects and closes Twitch accounts belonging to people under the age of 13.However, child abuse is far beyond being just a Twitch-specific problem.<h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">How deep do the roots of child abuse go on the Internet?</h2>According to a <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/09/self-generated-sexual-abuse-of-children-aged-seven-to-10-rises-two-thirds?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">study</a> conducted by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the number of cases in which children between the ages of seven and ten were manipulated by adults to record moments of obscene behaviour online has increased by 2/3&nbsp;in the last six months. Based on this, while the IWF received 12 thousand reports of child abuse in the same period last year, this number was 20 thousand in the first six months of 2022. Furthermore, the report states that this disturbing global ‘trend’ has increased by 360% since the first half of 2020, when quarantines due to Covid-19 were implemented.UNICEF's official website <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.unicef.org/protection/violence-against-children-online?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">reports</a> that 80% of children in 25 countries feel at risk of online sexual abuse and exploitation .The National Center for Missing &amp; Exploited Children (NCMEC), to which social media networks are obliged to report child sexual abuse material (CSAM), states that nearly 70 million CSAM were reported to them in 2019, and that a large proportion of these materials circulate on social media networks, especially Facebook. &nbsp;However, <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.counteringcrime.org/how-the-internet-is-drowning-in-child-sex-abuse-content?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">NCMEC</a> states that there has been a 15,000% increase in reported harassment cases over the last 15 years.On the other hand, a survey of 40,000 school-age children conducted by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children found that 25% of respondents had live-streamed with a stranger on a social media platform, while another survey conducted by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90654692/on-social-media-child-sexual-abuse-material-spreads-faster-than-it-can-be-taken-down?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">found</a> that 67% of CSAM victims said that the online dissemination of sexually explicit images of themselves affected them as much as physical abuse because the images were ‘permanent’.A <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-10-18/online-sexual-abuse-of-kids-is-common-perps-usually-friends-partners#:~:text=The%20researchers%20found%20that%2016,sextortion%20and%20commercial%20sexual%20exploitation.?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">survey&nbsp;</a>of 2,600 respondents found that 16% of respondents had experienced at least one form of sexual abuse before the age of 18, including non-consensual sexting, ‘grooming’, defined as a friendship between an adult/older person and a minor with the intention of a future emotional and/or sexual relationship, revenge porn, sexual harassment, and commercial sexual exploitation, which tended to occur when respondents were between the ages of 13 and 17. According to the report, girls and children who do not conform to gender norms are the most likely to be targeted by online sexual harassers, with 1 in 13 boys also falling victim to harassment. What’s worse is that, according to the report, 62% of the perpetrators' dating partners were friends and acquaintances, and 2/3 of the perpetrators were children under the age of 18.When it comes to child abuse and social media, another social media platform that has recently come to the forefront along with Twitch is TikTok, which is contained within China-based ByteDance. The fact that TikTok has a younger user profile compared to other social media platforms makes it a great tool for abusers. In this regard, many investigations are being conducted against TikTok, especially in the USA.&nbsp;According to the <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/d5549d48-8f02-464c-9c7d-17404a5b6d02?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Financial Times</a>&nbsp;on 15 April 2022, between 2019 and 2021, the number of investigations started by the US Department of Homeland Security aginst TikTok over child abuse increased 7-fold. NCMEC reports that TikTok reported approximately 155 thousand videos last year, while TikTok states that 96% of the content that violates the safety rules covering non-adult users is removed before anyone sees it.TikTok had recently <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2022/08/04/tiktok-is-storing-uncensored-images-of-child-sexual-abuse-and-using-them-to-train-moderators/?sh=17e08fcc5acb&utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">come to the fore</a> by offering a large-scale cache of uncensored images of sexually abused children as a reference guide to the employees of third-party companies that manage and monitor the content of the platform. Accordingly, TikTok was using images of child abuse that had been removed from the platform to train its moderators. While it is not known how many people have access to these images, ‘Its training materials have “strict access controls and do not include visual examples of CSAM.’ said TikTok spokesperson Jamie Favazza, on the issue.Another notorious social media account for child abuse is Instagram. Instagram, which reported approximately 3.4 million CSAMs to the NCEMC last year, was named the country's <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/03/01/surge-of-200-in-use-of-instagram-to-target-and-abuse-children/?sh=10510eec59c4&utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">‘leading’ platform</a> for child abuse by the NSPCC, the UK's leading children's charity, in 2019. The study, which covers an 18-month period, found that there were over 5,000 recorded offences of ‘sexual contact with children’ on the platform during that time, and a 200% increase in the number of recorded cases of Instagram being used to target and harass children. Another detail stated in the report was that the target audience was mostly children between the ages of 12 and 15; however, in some cases, this number fell below the age of 11.Stating that the data is ‘overwhelming proof that keeping children safe cannot be left to social networks’, Peter Wansless, CEO of the NSPCC, said that we cannot wait for the next tragedy before technology companies act, and that it is ‘vital’ for Instagram to more carefully design the basic protection service it offers to young people.<h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Precautions taken at all?</h2>Of course, social media platforms take certain measures to prevent online child harassment; however, the main reason why social media platforms are the target of criticism at this point is that they insist on not taking enough precautions as if they allow children to be sexually harassed online. Although the rules of most platforms state that users under a certain age are prohibited from creating an account, we all know that it is not difficult to bypass this so-called security. All you have to do is lie about your date of birth or use a parent's phone for verification. I am sure that those of us who were children, especially in the first years when Facebook started to become popular, have been through these paths. At least I did, I admit it.Recently, apart from Twitch, there was another tech giant that announced that it would increase security measures for children: Meta. Meta will automatically change the default privacy settings for child accounts on Facebook and will <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-trying-to-prevent-suspicious-adults-from-messaging-teens-on-facebook-and-instagram-130020996.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">make changes</a> to prevent ‘suspicious’ adults from messaging teens on Facebook and Instagram.&nbsp;One of the toughest laws targeting sexual harassment of children on the Internet is preparing to come into force in the United Kingdom. We know that the Online Safety Bill, which is expected to be groundbreaking in this regard, will introduce new rules that will force social media and other user-generated content-based websites to remove ‘harmful content’ revolving around children from their platforms. Under the bill, all platforms will be obliged to scan and remove illegal content.<h2 dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Who bears the greatest responsibility?</h2>The continuous increase in the number of online child abuse, although the social media giants continuously take new measures and promise to continue to take new measures and make statements about how ‘abusive behaviour’ will never be tolerated on their platforms shows that this problem does not only start with social media platforms, but also shows that it will not end with social media platforms.&nbsp;At this point, the biggest duty falls on us: Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. For this reason, it is very important to make sure that your child does not sign up for social media platforms that you know your child is not old enough for; if necessary, install some surveillance software on children's smartphones that shows how much time they spend on which application; set rules about who children can communicate with on the internet and how long they can communicate; talk to your child about online safety multiple times if necessary, and most importantly, if your child is sexually harassed online, never blame them&nbsp;and get help from an expert in the field.

On online platforms, there are adult users, who find and follow young users. These adults, most of which have over 1,000 children on their follow lists, manipulate these children to perform everything from obscene dances to explicit sexual acts on live broadcast.

According to the ‘Turkish startup ecosystem 2022 HI’ report published by <a fr-original-style="" href="https://startups.watch/?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Startups.watch</a>, the fact that the Turkish gaming industry received 333 million investments in the first 6 months of the year and received the most investments in the game sector in Europe drew attention to the seriousness of this potential once again.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">First of all: What is e-sports?</h2>In short, e-sports stands for the world of organised video games in which professional players or teams in professional leagues compete within the framework of competition. Opponents from different leagues or teams, namely e-athletes, compete fiercely in popular video games such as Fortnite, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Madden NFL. Meanwhile, many game enthusiasts, and we are talking about millions here, follow these games on online platforms or by participating in organised events, just like watching a sports competition. Through streaming platforms such as Twitch, gamers can watch their favourite e-athletes, and e-athletes can build their own fanbase.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">The very first e-sports tournament in history</h2>Although it is a concept that we have been frequently hearing in recent years, the roots of e-sports actually date back about 50 years. Due to the introduction of computer technologies into our lives in the 50s and the video games becoming a part of our lives for the next 20 years, the event that is considered the first video game tournament in history <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.ispo.com/en/markets/history-esports-how-it-all-began" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">took place</a> on October 19, 1972.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/10/3/1669803211378.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.49" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">'Spacewar' — Wikimedia CommonsOn this date, 24 players came together at the ‘Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics’ hosted by Stanford University's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to compete in ‘Spacewar’, known as the world's first digital computer game, and with this event, the foundations of the e-sports world were established. In the years after this tournament, where the winner received only a one-year ‘Rolling Stones’ subscription as a prize in contrast to today's millions of dollars, the unstoppable rise of e-sports began with events of games such as Asteroids and Space Invaders.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">So, who are e-sports watchers?</h2>In fact, Asian countries make up a large proportion of e-sports watchers. Based on 2019 data; 40% of internet users in China, 33% in Vietnam, 29% in the Philippines, 26% in Indonesia, 25% in Thailand, 24% in India,19% in South Korea, 19% in the United Arab Emirates, 17% in Taiwan, and 16% in Turkey <a fr-original-style="" href="https://cyberathletiks.com/how-many-people-watch-esports/?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">watch&nbsp;</a>official e-sports tournaments.&nbsp;According to data shared by Newzoo, a total of 435.7 million people <a fr-original-style="" href="https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/the-esports-audience-will-pass-half-a-billion-in-2022-as-revenue-engagement-esport-industry-growth?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">watched</a> e-sports, 220.5 million being occasional and 215.2 million being regular viewers. In 2021, this number increased by 240 million, from 249.5 million to 489 million; whereas in 2022, it rose from 270.9 million to 532 million, with an increase of 261.2 million. According to Newzoo, a total of 640.8 million people will have been e-sports watchers by 2025.In addition, while the number of people who watched the NBA finals in 2016 was 31 million, the number of people who watched the League of Legends world finals match was 43 million is another indicator of the rising popularity of e-sports.When it comes to the gender of e-sports fans, although there is a misconception that, as in most sports, males have an overwhelming majority, we can say that this perception has now been changed according to the data published in recent years. The distribution of e-athletes aged 18 and over in the USA, where 38% were women and 62% were men in 2006, is <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/232383/gender-split-of-us-computer-and-video-gamers/?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">45% female and 55% male</a>.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Huge market value</h2>The value of the global esports market, which was worth 906 million dollars in 2018, is over 1.38 billion dollars by 2022. Nevertheless, the e-sports market is <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/490522/global-esports-market-revenue/?utm_source=aposto" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">projected to</a> continue to grow and reach a value of&nbsp;1.86 billion dollars by 2025. The e-sports market of Asia and North America, where only China currently makes up one-fifth of, is one of the world's largest e-sports markets in terms of value.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">E-sports in Turkey</h2>According to Riot Games Turkey Manager Bora Koçyiğit, e-sports games stand out as the second most watched sport after football in Turkey. While highlighting that this fact e-sports is among the rising trends in Turkey, Orlando Carlo Calumeno, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the e-sports team fastPlay WildCats, who participated in the Bloomberg HT Business World program in 2021 and evaluated the Turkish market, states that there are 85 to 90 professional e-sports teams in Turkey, while there are thousands in the amateur league. Calumano also adds that the Turkish e-sports sector is a market worth&nbsp;850 million to 950 million dollars.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/10/3/1669803335912.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="2.82" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">via Startups.watch&nbsp;On the other hand, according to Newzoo data, as of 2018, there are more than 4 million e-sports viewers in Turkey. According to Gaming in Turkey, at least 29 million out of over 46 million people&nbsp;with internet access in Turkey actively play video games.