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Thanks for reading this newsletter, this week we talk about partially restoring vision for blind people, increasing transparency of AI edits, and bringing a sense of touch to robots.

1. A new implant could restore vision for some blind people 🧑‍🦯🕶️

The implant could partially restore vision and enables people reading and card-playing.

2. Google Photos will now show AI edits 🔎🤖

AI tools simplify photo edits, and Google wants to improve transparency for AI edits.

3. Meta is building a robot hand with “touch” ✋🤖

It partners with sensor and robotics firms to improve AI research with tactile senses.

• A startup, competing with Neuralink, developed a brain-computer interface technology to help patients restore partial vision.

• This implant allows people to read, play cards and recognise faces.

A Neuralink Rival Says Its Eye Implant Restored Vision in Blind People

1. Such innovation could transform lives, especially for those with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

2. The implant provides “form vision”, enabling users to see shapes and patterns with a yellowish tint (though not in full color).

3. AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in older adults, impacting millions worldwide.

• A small, photovoltaic chip is implanted under the retina of the patient.

• Special glasses project visual data into the chip.

• The chip converts data into electrical signals to stimulate retinal neurons.

👉🏻 Investment Theme: Medical Devices

Medical devices can assist in the treatment of many conditions and help reduce the risk of worsening of a treated condition.

• AI has simplified photo edits with powerful editing tools like Google Magic Editor and Magic Eraser.

• To improve transparency, Google will soon indicate AI edits in the app.

More transparency for AI edits in Google Photos

1. The approach can make it harder to use AI-generated content for malicious purposes.

2. It can play an important role in helping prevent the spread of misinformation.

3. Similar techniques are being rolled out to watermark text and videos created with gen-AI.

• The app will show when an image has been edited using generative AI.

• Or when an image is composed of elements from different photos using non-generative features.

• This information will be visible in the metadata attached to each picture.

👉🏻 Investment Theme: Enabling Technology

Enabling technologies like artificial intelligence, AR/VR, 5G, cloud and big data are the engine of the digital transformation and spending on their development should remain high.

• Meta is partnering with a sensor firm and a robotics company to make tactile sensors for AI.

• These sensors are for scientists, not consumers, to advance AI research.

Meta is making a robot hand that can ‘feel’ touch

1. This innovation aims to improve IA’s understanding of the physical world.

2. It would allow AI to feel textures and pressures, beyond sight and sound.

3. Applications cover robotics to handle materials carefully, healthcare for robotic surgeries or to assist people, and space exploration to gather data in harsh environments.

• Digit 360 is a sensor with human-like touch capabilities, capable of sensing vibrations, heat, and even smell.

• Allegro Hand is a robotic hand, capable of encoding data, and allowing real-time processing by a host computer.

• By combining both, researchers could create a robotic hand that mimics human touch and movement more closely than ever before.

👉🏻 Investment Theme: Automation & Robotics

Robots and automation are driving the fourth industrial revolution and are transforming the future.

Hand-picked for relationship managers and investment advisors, Weekly Investment Conversation Starters is a series of ideas to start a conversation with clients, spark their curiosity and gauge their appetite for thematic investments.