What if the metaverse is just Big Tech's next conquest? | Is personal style the latest denim trend? | Former chair: Why being on boards is harder than ever
The metaverse possesses many of the same qualities as the internet, but what potentially makes it unique is if virtual reality can become a normal, everyday part of work, unlocking vast enterprise markets and budgets, writes Ben Thompson. The metaverse's dependence on profits and markets makes it less likely to be an open world like the early internet was, argues Cecilia D'Anastasio, as "why would three or four tech giants partner to make a metaverse when they already spent decades and billions constructing their own?"
Jeans have been seen as a bellwether for current fashion trends, but today it seems all styles, from hip-hugging bellbottoms to high-waisted mom jeans, are in vogue. The rise of e-commerce and social media has provided denim brands with low-cost ways to design and test new styles, and newer players like Gen Z favorite Shein boast thousands of women's jeans styles at any given time.
Recruiting for corporate boards is increasingly complex because of the vast areas of expertise needed, including experience in crisis management, says Anastassia Lauterbach, who as a board chair once had to fire a CEO for improprieties. "Boards should be like a Swiss Army knife, with every person representing a different way to solve a problem, whether it's a background in international business development, digital, finance, global markets, or talent management," Lauterbach says.
Vinson & Elkins partner Maggie Peloso explains how COP26 will shape the future of environmental, social and governance investing and disclosure. Peloso unpacks progress made on the launch of the International Sustainability Standards Board and discusses a $130 trillion pledge from the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.
Nvidia is developing Earth 2, a digital twin of the planet, to address the issues resulting from climate change. In an effort to predict climate change, CEO Jensen Huang said, "This new supercomputer will be E2, Earth 2, the digital twin of Earth, running Modulus-created AI physics at a million times speeds in the Omniverse."
Retired Maj. Gen. Michael Boera, now with Leidos, says artificial intelligence and machine learning is helping humans be more effective, efficient and confident in battle situations. "Realistically speaking, I suspect potentially 75% of the processes needed to get the right effect on the right target at the right time and place can be automated, but there will always be a time for the human to be in the loop making decisions," Boera says.
I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow man.
Sun Bear, Chippewa medicine chief, writer November is Native American Heritage Month
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