Mark Your Calendars: Meta’s Connect 2024 Conference Kicks Off Today!
Investors are eagerly awaiting Meta Platforms’ (META) highly anticipated Connect 2024 conference, which gets underway at 1 PM ET today. CEO Mark Zuckerberg will take center stage to unveil his vision for artificial intelligence and the metaverse, as well as showcase the latest product innovations ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report next month. With a record-breaking capital expenditure of $37B-$40B slated for 2024, all eyes will be on Meta’s ambitious plans for the future.
One of the most highly anticipated announcements is the unveiling of the new augmented reality glasses, dubbed “Orion,” which promises to combine the advanced AR technology found in the Meta Quest Pro headset with the sleek design of Ray-Ban’s iconic Wayfarer frames. Additionally, a less expensive version of the Quest 3 is expected to be announced, along with potential updates on the forthcoming Quest 4 and broader Metaverse plans.
In other news, Meta is set to reveal its partnership with A-list celebrities Judi Dench, Kristen Bell, and John Cena, who will lend their voices to the company’s Llama large-language model. This innovative feature will allow users to select from a range of celebrity voices for Meta’s digital assistant.
As one of the few companies to have successfully leveraged AI investments into tangible returns, Meta’s announcements are expected to have significant implications for the tech industry as a whole. With shares surging nearly 60% since the start of the year, investors are keenly watching to see what the company has in store.
Meanwhile, in other news, OPEC predicts global oil demand will continue to rise until 2050, driven by growth in India, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as slower adoption of electric vehicles and greener fuels. The organization expects oil demand to reach 120.1M bbl/day by 2050, up from 102.2M bbl/day last year.
In regulatory news, the U.S. Department of Justice has updated its guidance for prosecutors evaluating corporate compliance programs to include artificial intelligence risks. The revised guidelines will assess whether companies have conducted risk assessments of their AI technology and taken steps to mitigate potential dangers.
In other headlines, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison has been sentenced to two years in prison and three years’ probation for her role in the fraud that led to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Ellison’s cooperation with investigators earned her a more lenient sentence.
Global markets are mixed, with Asian indices showing a positive trend, while European markets are trading flat. In the U.S., futures are indicating a slightly positive open, with the Dow up 0.1% and the Nasdaq down 0.2%. Crude oil is trading down 0.7% at $71.08, while gold is up 0.2% to $2,680.70. Bitcoin is trading up 0.3% at $63,585.80.
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