Infosys and The FT Unveil the ‘FT Money Machine’ for Apple Vision Pro Headset

• A digital twin of the landmark economic simulator ‘The Moniac’
• The FT Money Machine leverages Apple Vision Pro to deliver an immersive and interactive experience making economics education more effective and accessible

Infosys and The Financial Times have launched the ‘FT Money Machine’, an immersive extended reality experience that revives the historic Monetary National Income Analogue Computer (MONIAC). This innovative project uses Apple Vision Pro to create an interactive and educational tool for learning about economics.

The FT Money Machine allows users to explore and manipulate economic scenarios using intuitive gestures like eye tracking, hand movements, and voice commands. This experience bridges the gap between historical analog computing and modern digital learning, making economics education more engaging and accessible.

It leverages the creative design and build expertise from WongDoody, Infosys’ human experience agency, where WongDoody helped ensure that the FT Money Machine app exceeds user expectations in a seamless blend of historical significance and cutting-edge technology.

Infosys and The Financial Times have taken economist Bill Phillips’ original invention, a hydraulic analog computer created in 1949 that used water to model and study economic systems, as the foundation for a unique Extended Reality (XR) project which revolutionizes how we learn about economics and ensures education at scale.

 

Bill Phillips' Hydraulic Analog Computer Created in 1949

Emphasizing on 'learning by doing', the new XR app, accessible through Apple Vision Pro and available in the Apps Store, faithfully recreates the Moniac’s functionality while adding new, interactive features. This approach bridges the gap between historical analogue computing and modern digital learning, offering an unparalleled educational experience to the global student community.

Users of The FT Money Machine will not only experience the full operation of The Moniac but also can explore and create their own economic scenarios in free play mode. They will be able to interact with the machine using intuitive gestures such as eye tracking, hand movements, and voice commands, allowing them to adjust variables like consumption, taxation, and investment to see real-time impacts on the economy, as well as understand complex economic interactions, predict outcomes of various policy decisions, and enhance economic modelling techniques.

To try out the FT Money Machine, you'll need access to an Apple Vision Pro headset, as the experience is designed specifically for this device. Here are the steps you can follow:

1. Acquire an Apple Vision Pro: Ensure you have the Apple Vision Pro headset, which is required for the immersive experience.

2. Download the Experience: If available, download the FT Money Machine application or experience from the App Store or the respective website.

3. Set Up the Experience: Follow the instructions provided to set up the FT Money Machine on your Apple Vision Pro.

4. Engage with the Experience: Use the intuitive gestures like eye tracking, hand movements, and voice commands to explore and manipulate economic scenarios.

Keep an eye on any updates or announcements from Infosys and The Financial Times for more detailed instructions and availability.

Financial Times and Infosys Launch Free FT Schools Content for Indian Students

Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced the expansion of its existing collaboration with the Financial Times (FT), for advancing education in India. FT will now provide curated content to the registered users on Infosys Springboard, the free digital learning and reskilling platform for students. The users will be able to read FT news stories on different themes including, India, Education, Work & Careers, Technology, Climate and top trending news stories.

The free access will be provided via FT Schools, the FT’s philanthropic initiative to provide open FT digital access to students around the world. The programme provides world-class journalism to help students broaden their knowledge and leverage trusted articles and resources for their educational needs.

Benefits:

• Students can leverage world-class journalism from the Financial Times to broaden their knowledge and access trusted articles and resources for their educational needs.
• The collaboration aligns with Infosys' commitment to digitally skill over 10 million people by 2025 and bridge the digital divide through quality education.
• The engagement is part of a wider strategic collaboration between the Financial Times and Infosys, which also includes a subscription partnership with FT Professional for Infosys' substantial employee base.

James Lamont, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Financial Times, said, "We appreciate the next generation’s increasing need for reliable, trusted news, and we know that many students and educators around the world find FT content an invaluable resource for their studies. We are delighted to collaborate with Infosys to bring FT content to a wider audience in India.”

Thirumala Arohi, EVP and Head - Education, Training and Assessment, Infosys, said, “A key focus area for Infosys is to accelerate digital innovation and improve access to evolving skills. Infosys has made a commitment to digitally skill over 10 million people by 2025 and bridge the digital divide by leveraging its platform Infosys Springboard to democratize quality education. Through our collaboration with the Financial Times, we look forward to further deepening our portfolio of offerings from Infosys Springboard for the Indian student community."

This engagement is part of a wider strategic collaboration between the Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organizations, and Infosys, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. This includes a subscription partnership with FT Professional – which serves nearly 8,000 businesses, government, and education institutions around the world – for Infosys’ substantial employee base.

About the Financial Times

The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading business news organisations, recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. The FT has a record paying readership of 1.2 million, more than one million of which are digital subscriptions. It is part of Nikkei Inc., which provides a broad range of information, news and services for the global business community.

Adani Group Condemns "London" based Financial Times

In a press release on Tuesday, Adani Group said that — "There is a renewed attempt by the Financial Times and its collaborators to rehash old and baseless allegations to tarnish the name and standing of the Adani Group. This is part of their extended campaign to advance vested interests under the guise of public interest."

"Continuing their relentless campaign, the next attack is being fronted by Dan McCrum of the Financial Times, who jointly with the OCCRP put out a false narrative against the Adani Group on 31 August 2023. The OCCRP is funded by George Soros, who has openly declared his hostility against the Adani Group, " Adani Group said.

Best-known for his investigation into the Wirecard scandal between 2014 and 2020, Dan McCrum is an investigative journalist for the London-based Financial Times. McCrum is an alumnus of Durhum University (legally known as University of Durham). And notably, while FT is itself a London-based media entity with anti-India content most of the time, the Durham University is known to have a close connection with Freemason, a kind of a society associated to the British Empire. 

Adani Group further said, "Having failed earlier, the FT is making another effort to financially destabilise the Adani Group by raking up an old, baseless allegation of over-invoicing of coal imports. The FT’s proposed story is based on the DRI’s General Alert Circular No.11/2016/CI dated 30 March 2016. The FT’s brazen agenda is exposed by the fact that they have singled out the Adani Group, while the DRI’s Circular, the raison d'être for the whole story, mentions as many as 40 importers including the Adani Group companies. This list not only includes some of India’s major private power generators like Reliance Infra, JSW Steels and Essar but also the state power generating companies of Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, etc. and the NTPC and MSTC."

"It is noteworthy that, in the case of Knowledge Infrastructure, one of the 40 importers mentioned in the General Alert Circular, the DRI’s Show Cause Notice alleging over-valuation in the import of coal was quashed by the appellate tribunal (CESTAT). Further, the DRI’s appeal was dismissed as withdrawn by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India on 24 January 2023 with the observation that “we appreciate the stand taken by the Government in not entering into futile litigation.” Clearly, the issue of overvaluation in the import of coal was conclusively settled by India’s highest court of law."

"The FT’s proposed storyline is a clever recycling and selective misrepresentation of publicly available facts and information with a deliberate and mischievous suppression of judicial decisions to arrive at a predetermined conclusion. It shows scant respect for India’s regulatory and judicial processes and authorities. It also deliberately ignores the fact that coal procurement in India on long-term supply basis is done through an open, transparent, global bidding process thereby eliminating any possibility of price manipulation. Tariff fixation by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is an open, transparent, independent process where the tariffs are fixed after carefully evaluating all variables and in consultations with the power generator, distributor and retail consumers. So, clearly, the multiple stakeholders have multiple opportunities to look at all aspects determining the tariffs, including the import value of coal. Hence the question of over invoicing or price manipulation does not arise."

It is unfortunate that some foreign entities like the OCCRP, supported by a section of the foreign media, short-sellers and domestic collaborators, have launched a series of attacks against the Adani Group with the primary intent of dragging down its market value. In fact, these individuals and groups, bound by the common objective of damaging the Adani Group, have developed a playbook which is being executed to perfection by a well-oiled and professional machinery working in sync both within India and abroad.

It is not mere coincidence that such stories have an uncanny ability to appear just before the hearing dates of important cases in India’s courts.

Adani Group further concluded, "While we deny all such allegations, which are false and baseless, we also condemn such deliberate, and motivated attempts to destabilise the Adani Group. We are a law-abiding company which is fully compliant with all rules, regulations and disclosure requirements with full respect for the rule of law."