Walmart Unveils AI Strategy and its Retail-specific LLM ‘Wallaby’

Walmart has unveiled its strategy to accelerate Adaptive Retail, a new era of retail defined by profoundly personal experiences that brings shopping to customers in exactly the ways they want and need. The company is leveraging proprietary artificial intelligence (AI), Generative AI (GenAI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Immersive Commerce platforms to create hyper-personalized, convenient, and engaging shopping experiences across Walmart stores, Sam's Clubs, apps, and other virtual environments.

At the heart of Walmart's platform strategy is developing common global core capabilities that are built once and deployed across Walmart U.S., Sam's Club, and Walmart International. Walmart has developed a system of proprietary GenAI platforms, including Wallaby, a series of retail-specific Large Language Models (LLMs) that will primarily be used to create customer-facing experiences.

The company is actively building dozens of additional GenAI tools for customers, members, associates, and partners that leverage its GenAI platforms. Walmart is also leveraging a combination of GenAI platforms to create a more personalized version of its AI-powered Customer Support Assistant.

Walmart is also pushing retail beyond the blend of online and in-store shopping by developing an AR platform called Retina, which leverages AI, GenAI, and automation to create tens of thousands of 3D assets, along with Immersive Commerce APIs. These technologies enable the company to bring the Walmart shopping experience into new virtual social environments, unlock new revenue streams, and be at the forefront of Adaptive Retail.

Apple Announces ‘Depth Pro’ AI Model that Generates 3D Depth Maps from Images

Apple has announced the release of its Depth Pro AI model, a cutting-edge technology that enables fast and accurate monocular depth estimation. This innovative model is capable of synthesizing high-resolution depth maps with unparalleled sharpness and high-frequency details, making it a game-changer for various applications, including augmented reality, robotics, and computer vision.

According to Apple, Depth Pro is a foundation model that can produce a 2.25-megapixel depth map in just 0.3 seconds on a standard GPU, making it one of the fastest and most efficient models of its kind. The model's predictions are also metric, meaning they have absolute scale, and do not rely on the availability of metadata such as camera intrinsics.

The development of Depth Pro is the result of several technical contributions, including an efficient multi-scale vision transformer for dense prediction, a training protocol that combines real and synthetic datasets to achieve high metric accuracy alongside fine boundary tracing, and dedicated evaluation metrics for boundary accuracy in estimated depth maps. The model also includes state-of-the-art focal length estimation from a single image, which is a key component of the depth estimation process.

Apple's Depth Pro AI model has undergone extensive testing and has demonstrated superior performance compared to prior work in multiple dimensions. The company believes that this technology has the potential to revolutionize various industries and applications, and is excited to see the impact it will have on the world.

With the release of Depth Pro, Apple is once again pushing the boundaries of what is possible with artificial intelligence. This innovative technology is expected to have a significant impact on the field of computer vision and beyond, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for this exciting new development.

HuggingFace Releases Gradio 5 Tool to Build Production-ready Machine Learning Web Apps

Hugging Face has released a new Python package called OpenAI-Gradio, which allows developers to create AI-powered web apps with just a few lines of code. The tool simplifies the process of integrating OpenAI's large language models (LLMs) into web applications, making AI more accessible to developers of all skill levels. With OpenAI-Gradio, developers can install the package, set their OpenAI API key, and launch a fully functional web app in just a few steps.

The package integrates OpenAI's API with Gradio, a popular interface tool for machine learning (ML) applications. This allows developers to create interactive web apps that can be customized with specific input and output configurations. For example, developers can create a chatbot that handles customer service questions or a data analysis tool that generates insights based on user inputs.

Hugging Face's openai-gradio package removes traditional barriers to AI development, such as managing complex backend infrastructure or dealing with model hosting. By abstracting these challenges, the package enables businesses of all sizes to build and deploy AI-powered applications without needing large engineering teams or significant cloud infrastructure.

The package also integrates seamlessly into larger Gradio Web UIs, enabling the use of multiple models in a single application. This flexibility allows for seamless integration into broader web-based projects or standalone applications. With OpenAI-Gradio, developers can quickly create interactive web apps, like chatbots or data analysis tools, that can be customized with specific input and output configurations.

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343 Rebrands as Halo Studios with Multiple Unreal Engine 5 Games in the Works

Halo Studios, formerly known as 343 Industries, has announced a new chapter in the Halo franchise. The studio is adopting Unreal Engine 5, a significant change from its proprietary Slipspace Engine, to create new games with a focus on satisfying fans. This decision was made to improve the efficiency of development, reduce the time it takes to bring new games to market and to create games that meet the high standards of the gaming community.

The studio has been working on a research project called Project Foundry, which showcases the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5. Foundry is not a new game, but rather a demonstration of what can be achieved with the new engine. The project features three distinct biomes, including a Pacific Northwest-inspired landscape, a frozen region, and a world consumed by the parasitic Flood. The goal of Foundry was to push the boundaries of what is possible with Unreal Engine 5 and to create a new look for the Halo franchise. They are committed to retaining the essence of what players love about Halo, including the combat, physics, and lore.

The studio is reorganizing its structure to focus on creating multiple new experiences at the highest quality possible. While there is no new Halo game imminent, the studio is working on multiple projects, including new games and updates to existing ones. The team is committed to doing the work, rather than just talking about it, and will share more information about their projects when the time is right.

A Win for Epic Games as Judge Orders Google Play Store to Allow Rival Marketplaces

Judge James Donato has ruled that Google's Play Store is an illegal monopoly on Android, forcing the tech giant to open up its store to third-party app stores for the next three years. This means that developers will be able to distribute their apps through other stores, and users will be able to access them through the Play Store. Additionally, Google will no longer be able to enforce its payment system on the Play Store, and developers will be able to set their prices.

The ruling also prevents Google from incentivizing developers to launch their apps exclusively on the Play Store, either through money or perks. This includes stopping Google from paying device manufacturers and carriers to pre-install the Play Store but not third-party stores. The goal of these changes is to "level the playing field" and allow rival stores to grow and compete with the Play Store.

Google has announced its intention to appeal the verdict, warning that it will cause "unintended consequences that will harm American consumers, developers and device makers." However, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is celebrating the victory, tweeting that the Epic Games Store and other app stores will be coming to the Google Play Store in 2025 without Google's "scare screens and 30% app tax."

The ruling is a significant win for Epic, which has been battling Google and Apple over their app store policies. The company has argued that these policies are anti-competitive and stifle innovation. With this ruling, Epic and other developers will have more freedom to distribute their apps and set their prices, potentially leading to a more competitive and diverse app market.

Claims of Roblox Inflating User Numbers and Downplaying Child Presence Come to Surface, Roblox Rejects Claims

A new report from research firm Hindenburg Research claimed that Roblox Corp. has been inflating its user numbers and downplaying the presence of child predators on its platform. The report alleged that Roblox has two separate sets of books that count users, which consistently overstate the number of players on its platform by 25-43 percent and engagement hours by 100 percent. This is because players may create multiple accounts that are counted as multiple users instead of a single individual.

The report also claimed that Roblox has been aware of the issue of child predators on its platform for years, but has failed to take adequate action to address the problem. Hindenburg's research found that the platform is home to predators looking to take advantage of younger players and that it has been a longstanding issue for years. The firm created several new Roblox accounts of different ages to test the platform's safety measures and found that there is still no upfront screening to avoid making accounts named after specific sexual predators.

Roblox Corp. has responded to the report, stating that it rejects the claims made by Hindenburg Research and that it has provided "abundant clarity" on its approaches to measuring and reporting critical metrics. The company acknowledged that its Daily Active Users (DAUs) are not a measure of unique individuals accessing Roblox and that any potential bot or other fraudulent accounts may contribute to an overstatement of DAUs.

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Uniswap Reveals“Unichain”, its Superchain Layer 2

Uniswap Labs has announced the launch of Unichain, a fast, decentralized Superchain L2 designed to be the home for DeFi and liquidity across chains. Unichain aims to solve the challenges faced by DeFi on Ethereum, including high transaction costs and slow processing times. The new L2 is built to be low-cost, decentralized, and fast, with near-instant transactions and seamless multi-chain swapping.

Unichain is designed to leverage and accelerate Ethereum's scaling roadmap, moving execution to an L2 and lowering transaction costs by ~95% compared to Ethereum L1. The L2 will also introduce a decentralized validation network that allows nodes to verify blocks, adding a layer of finality and reducing the risk of conflicting or invalid blocks. Unichain will launch with one-second block times and will soon introduce 250ms "sub-blocks" that will make user experiences feel instant.

Unichain is built to enable seamless access to swapping, no matter which chain users are on. The L2 will implement native interoperability with OP Labs, enabling single-block, cross-chain message passing among Superchain L2s. Unichain will also work to make interoperability between all chains better through initiatives like ERC-7683. The Uniswap Interface and Uniswap Wallet will soon introduce cross-chain swapping, making it easier for users to access liquidity across chains.

The Unichain testnet is now live, with the mainnet coming later this year. Developers can access a full suite of resources in the Unichain Builder Toolkit, and the Uniswap Foundation is leading developer engagement, providing grants and programming to support developers building on Unichain.

Off The Grid Launches in Early Access with New ‘Ninja’ Skin

Off The Grid, an Extraction Royale game on AVAX is now available in Early Access on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X. The game combines fast-paced PvP combat with immersive Extraction elements, where players must choose to face off rival players or hunt down valuable Hexes to extract and keep rare high-value loot.

The game is launching into Early Access, which means that while the core gameplay is ready, this is only the beginning. The developers will be regularly releasing new locations, weapons, and gameplay modes, and are seeking feedback from players to make Off The Grid the best experience it can be. Early Access players will have a direct impact on the development of the game, and your feedback will help shape the future of Teardrop Island.

The game's development team has worked closely with big traditional gaming streamers, including Ninja and TimTheTatMan, to bring the game to life. They even worked with Ninja to have his skin in the game.

To join the Early Access, players can download the game on PC, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X (Insiders). The game is available to selected players on Xbox Series X in North America and Europe, exclusively through the Xbox Insider Program.

Scroll Announces the Launch of $SCR Token

Scroll has announced the launch of its native token, SCR, which will play a crucial role in decentralizing the Scroll protocol. The token will be used as a primary governance mechanism and will progress to being a protocol utility token as Scroll becomes more decentralized. SCR will be used to decentralize governance, proving, and sequencing, and will also be involved in aligning the community, ecosystem projects, and contributors.

The SCR token distribution has been designed to maximize the community's impact and expand the global distribution of applications and services. The token distribution includes an airdrop of 15% of the total token supply, with 7% allocated to the first airdrop and 8% reserved for future airdrops. The airdrop is intended to reward on-chain users and contributors to the Scroll ecosystem.

The remaining token distribution includes 35% allocated to the ecosystem and growth, 10% to the Scroll Foundation Treasury, 23% to core contributors, and 17% to investors. The ecosystem and growth allocation is intended to promote the growth of the Scroll community and will be distributed to value-additive participants. The Scroll Foundation Treasury will use its allocation to fund ongoing operations and activities, while core contributors and investors will receive their allocations based on a vesting schedule.

The SCR token will be available on Binance Launchpool and via an airdrop, broadening Scroll's reach to users globally. The token launch is an important step towards decentralization and will play a critical role in the long-term sustainability of the Scroll ecosystem.

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