CategoryTechnology

Experts question dire current and future Bitcoin energy use projections, most of which are based on a single source, Digiconomist, whose methodology is suspect

I love how thoughtful Bill Gates is – everything he says is considered and informed. His quick interview (via Quartz) is illuminating. Touted as: ‘The robot that takes your job should pay taxes, says Bill Gates‘ at first glance it may sound extreme. But here’s the logic: Quartz: What do you think of a robot tax? This is the idea that in order to generate funds for training...

Think of two key trends and join them together. For example: 1. Artificial Intelligence 2. Internet of Things (IoT) Ta-da: IBM is working with VISA to enable it’s Watson AI technology to make purchases on your behalf. And in particular, by connecting with your devices. Here’s the vision: IBM’s Watson IoT unit is aiming to provide access to as many as 20 billion devices for Visa...

Is machine learning overhyped?
Not yet IMO – from a marketing perspective, it’s just getting started.
Tomasz Tunguz outlines why it’s possible to get fatigued by the constant references to ML being the next wonder of the world (hint: it’s been providing enormous value for decades already).
Useful reading – especially some of the examples he mentions.

For private messages (like really private) I use Telegram.
But I’m thinking of switching to Signal. Here’s why.
BTW here’s their privacy FAQ.

It’s getting closer and closer via BBC Technology’s post commenting on a European Parliament draft report from in May 2016: The report suggests that robots, bots, androids and other manifestations of artificial intelligence are poised to “unleash a new industrial revolution, which is likely to leave no stratum of society untouched”. and This could, if not properly prepared...

Ghostery currently has 10 trackers on their site.

From Fortune’s article: The Ugly Unethical Underside of Silicon Valley A few quotes tell the story. For starters: “What if Theranos is the canary in the coal mine?” says Roger McNamee, a 40-year VC veteran and managing director at Elevation Partners. “Everyone is looking at Theranos as an outlier. We may discover it’s not an outlier at all.” Because: So inexperienced people are...

I’ve been reading a bit around AI lately. It started with this piece in the New York Times which focusses initially on Google (in particular Google Translate) and then the extraordinary speed with which they’ve reorganised the entire company around AI. And then the ‘arms race’ to AI control in the industry: Google’s decision to reorganize itself around A.I. was the...