4th IR Economy

The yearslong upgrade – intended to radically transform the world’s largest smart-contract platform – is inching closer to deployment.

The Ethereum Foundation recently announced “Medalla,” a final testnet before the mainnet launch of the Eth 2.0 beacon chain.

As of July 10, some developers, including Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, estimate the oft-delayed Eth 2.0 will launch by the end of this year. 

To mark the fifth anniversary of the network’s launch, CoinDesk is producing Ethereum at Five – a cross-platform series featuring special coverage, a limited-run newsletter and live-streamed discussions on Twitter. New issues and sessions launch daily from July 27-31. The pop-up experience precedes another event in September focused on Eth 2.0.

When phase zero of Eth 2.0 does ship, little about Ethereum will change in the near term for users and dapp developers. This is because unlike all other system-wide upgrades in Ethereum history, the Eth 2.0 overhaul will primarily be happening on a different blockchain. 



ETH price, protocol upgrades and Ethereum phases of development over timeSource: Coin Metrics and CoinDesk Research
The first phase of development for Eth 2.0 is centered around the creation of a separate proof-of-stake blockchain network called the beacon chain.

On this new network, ETH holders with a minimum of 32 ETH can earn rewards in the form of annualized interest on their wealth. To earn these rewards, ETH holders must have the appropriate hardware and software connecting to the beacon chain and a strong understanding of how the technology works. 

In a new 22-page report from CoinDesk Research, the technology behind Eth 2.0 is explained as well as the phases of development it will undergo in the years after its launch.

Read CoinDesk Research’s full report on Eth 2.0

Ethereum as we know it today will eventually be folded into the Eth 2.0 upgrade in its entirety. The report features commentary from Ethereum developers about what benefits – but also risks – this may bring. 

The report also discusses the potential market impact of Eth 2.0, including the ramifications of the new system’s economic design on coin supply, velocity and value.



ETH total supply growth at Phase 0 launchSource: Activate

Why it matters

The culmination of over five years of research and development, Ethereum 2.0 is a highly ambitious upgrade.

Never before has the cryptocurrency industry seen a blockchain of the same size and value as Ethereum attempt to transition all users, as well as assets, to an entirely new decentralized network while keeping all operations on the old network active and running. 

Read more: Ethereum Turns Five Next Week: How CoinDesk Is Marking the Milestone

It will likely take many years for the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade – in all its complexity – to be complete.

However, developer commentary featured in this report suggests the biggest hurdle (and perhaps most important milestone) in the Ethereum 2.0 roadmap is its initial launch.

Recently, blockchain technology had been used by companies in the Art field. Blockchain-powered immutable ledgers can be used to a specific work of art to trace its origin from the artists and finally to its owners.

Few companies are using blockchain technology to develop new business channels and trying to make the art world more approachable to a wider customer base.

How blockchain helps artist, collector, art investor, and the auction house

The art industry’s developing interest in blockchain technology is more evident in the media. There is an increase in blockchain and art-related news day by day. Let us see how blockchain can benefit the artist, art collector, art investor, and the auction house.

• The artist

A blockchain platform created exclusively for art makes sure that both the artists and acquirers are benefitted. An artist associated with the purchase will get the right package.

• Art collector

Blockchain can be used to track the origin, ownership, and history of an art piece, thereby proving its authenticity. An art collector can make use of this blockchain, to store the art in the digital ledger and get it timestamped. It can also be used to track physical characteristics and can be accessed whenever there is a need.

• Art investor

The Art investor can be benefitted from blockchain as the cost and fees of the transactions are very less. It can transform artworks worth millions of dollars into small digital units that are easily purchased and sold in real-time without the fear of heavy fees.

• Auction house

An important use of blockchain has led to the introduction of the blockchain-based auction house. Moreover, blockchain technology can help the auction house by increasing the long-term data transparency and security for the information regarding artworks. Further, the blockchain-based auction house guarantees the reduction in online auction frauds like non-payment or non-delivery in online auctions.

Companies from the art industry using blockchain

Blockchain technology can be used in specific works of art to trace its path from artists to the owners. Below given are the companies which are deploying blockchain technology to develop new business channels and make the art world more accessible.

• Cryptograffiti

Cryptograffiti can be considered as one of the earliest artists to explore the cryptocurrency domain and also one of the first to discover how cryptocurrencies can support artists through alternate revenue channels. Currently, Cryptograffiti work reuses the materials from sectors that are disrupted by the blockchain technology.

• DADA

DADA can be described as a visual communication network where non-artists and artists communicate with each other over drawings by creating art together. DADA id is backed by Ethereum and the transactions are carried out using smart contracts. Further, this platform functions as blockchain fueled artist’s marketplace where they can sell their work of art using smart contracts.

• Artory

Artory registry traces the origin of the art and other related collectibles by using blockchain ledger and make sure the custody is tamper-proof and authentic. Also, it maintains an immutable and secure digital registry where collectors can confirm their ownership without their identity.

• Blockchain Art Collective

The blockchain art collective is the fastest growing network of artists that uses blockchain to authenticate the artist’s work of origin, journey, and legitimacy. This is done by creating a certificate of authenticity by using blockchain technology where the data is available to all parties.

• Verisart

Verisart‘s framework is used to verify and certify art using the Bitcoin blockchain. It is a blockchain-based platform that helps its users to develop secure digital certificates for collectibles and art. With the help of blockchain, they can connect their works to their original records.

• All Public Art

By using blockchain technology, All Public Art permits art collectors and artists to do business with one another by using smart contracts, thereby eliminating the need for intermediaries. Aside from reducing the costs, it also secures the Peer-to-peer transaction by validating it.

• Rare Art Labs

Rare Art Labs is described as a digital gallery for artists. The artists can sell scarce copies of their digital artworks and can earn crypto. Also, Rare gives guidance to the artists on how to and how much to sell their works.

• Monegraph

Monegraph provides an open platform where anybody can register their workings on the Bitcoin blockchain. Monegraph’s developing suite of cloud-based tools and blockchain permit the artists to integrate their workings in their social media profiles, personal website, and several other platforms, where the communications are done with their customer.

• Cryptoart

Cryptoart integrates offline Bitcoin storage along with digital art, offering buyers an easy and safe way to secure their cryptocurrency in a physical form; by reducing the risk of stored bitcoin being hacked or stolen.

• Artlery

Artlery offers a convenient platform for valuing, pricing, and selling art. Moreover, it’s mobile application permits artists to trace their digital versions of their artworks, and can be shared through custom links online. Artlery depends on an art-based cryptocurrency called CLIO and offers easy and immediate payments by bank transfers.

Wrap up

When purchasing art, a face to face transaction with the artist is hard to replace, especially the blockchain is still in the adoption stages by the art industry. Although the innovations in the blockchain technology are helping the technological transformation of the art sector, it still needs to progress. We need to keep an open mind and see how blockchain technology is integrated into the art industry in the future.

Roxanne Williams

Roxanne Williams has recently joined as a market reporter for CryptoNewsZ - the 24/7 crypto news site, where she produces recent stories, technical analysis and price updates on world's leading cryptocurrencies.

Investing in blockchain technology may be the next big thing over the next few years, but opportunities accessible to most retail investors, though increasing, are still quite limited.

This isn’t the case, however, regarding opportunities for well-heeled HNW clients, whose universe of choices is far broader.

These options include the offerings of various private equity and venture capital firms channeling money into more than 1,200 blockchain startups from Silicon Valley on the West Coast to Silicon Alley in New York. Access to equity in these nascent ventures and fledgling companies—and ultimately, potentially in consolidated entities and IPOs —is increasing rapidly for accredited investors through more than 800 institutional blockchain investment firms whose vehicles include venture funds, private equity and hedge funds.  

Blockchain technology, which was created in the 1990s and became the transmission vehicle for Bitcoin when it started in 2009, is a revolutionary technology that can be adapted for use in just about any digital application involving record keeping, as its immutability fosters the creation of a perfect audit trail enabling transparent transactions with high accountability.

Evolving uses include establishing provenance, security exchanges, identity verification, financial services, gaming, lotteries, job seeking, e-commerce, digital transaction solutions, online value transfer and non-traditional monetary solutions.  

Many of the applications under development are focused on facilitating P2P uses of the internet rather than relying on centralized (traditional) financial institutions that profit from serving as intermediaries. These P2P uses are part of what’s known as the DeFi movement.

The terrain of potential investments in startups headed down these entrepreneurial roads is growing under the industry’s feet, and opportunities are expanding apace for qualified HNW clients who want to get into blockchain technology investing in the current early stages.

The focuses of some of the more prominent among firms gathering investment capital include funding blockchain application development through VC and private equity. A key player in this terrain is Pantera Capital, which started as a hedge fund in 2003 and in 2013, changed its focus to blockchain.

Pantera, which aims to stimulate blockchain-application development and innovation, has a large and widely diversified investment portfolio of more than 35 companies.

Managers of some blockchain investment funds are revolutionizing private equity by selling small pieces of their enterprises, making them accessible to a broad spectrum of investors with varying levels of resources.

The first firm to do this was Blockchain Capital, a VC firm that has issued pieces of its fund in the form tradable tokens called BCAPs, which entitle holders to some of the fund’s profits. (In the broader blockchain world, such tokens are being used to represent a broad range of assets, including fine art.) Since its inception in 2018, Blockchain Capital has financed about 70 companies, protocols and tokens.

Also, some longstanding, name-brand VC firms are marshaling growing ownership portfolios of blockchain startups. Prominent among these is Andreessen Horowitz.  

The firm has not only has a 20-plus and growing portfolio of companies in wide range of blockchain pursuits but has also recently announced a mentoring role in the form of a blockchain-based startup course whose live sessions in Silicon Valley will also be recorded for subsequent downloads. 

The course will include material on existing applications, development tools, regulatory compliance and fundraising.

Advisors who develop a basic understanding of blockchain investment avenues (few have done so) can alert HNW clients to these investment avenues. But the universe of firms seeking capital is expanding so fast that it can be difficult for even knowledgeable and adroit advisors to navigate the growing cadre of firms and stay abreast of changes in the field.  

When encountering resistance from clients regarding blockchain’s investment potential, advisors could effectively liken blockchain to the internet in its early stages—a relatable analogy for baby boomers. Though basic blockchain technology is free, so was the embryonic internet when Google and Amazon started up with what were essentially just applications.

Moreover, risk management for blockchain is now a rapidly developing area, in which expertise is being touted by digital asset managers such as Darma , a firm that’s bullish on the concept of Web. 3.0, which would embody the DeFi and hence, financial decentralization of the current web.Specifically, what will happen in this digital gold rush is anybody’s guess.

About the only thing that’s certain is that picking likely winners from the multitude of entities—and the firms investing in them on behalf of clients—is a daunting challenge reminiscent of the chaotic early years of the internet.

Advisors getting into this realm would do well to keep in mind that responsible advice to clients requires no small amount of effort to catch up and stay current.  

Eric. C. Jansen, ChFC, founder, president and chief investment officer of Finivi Inc., an SEC-registered investment advisory firm based in Westborough, Mass., is the author of numerous articles on blockchain. He is the founder of blocksocial.com, a blockchain technology media site.

Google has more computing power, data, and talent to pursue artificial intelligence than any other company on Earth—and it’s not slowing down. That’s why humans can’t, either.BY KATRINA BROOKER 

The human brain is a funny thing. Certain memories can stick with us forever: the birth of a child, a car crash, an election day. But we only store some details—the color of the hospital delivery room or the smell of the polling station—while others fade, such as the face of the nurse when that child was born, or what we were wearing during that accident.

For Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the day he watched AI rise out of a lab is one he’ll remember forever.

“This was 2012, in a room with a small team, and there were just a few of us,” he tells me. An engineer named Jeff Dean, a legendary programmer at Google who helped build its search engine, had been working on a new project and wanted Pichai to have a look.

“Anytime Jeff wants to update you on something, you just get excited by it,” he says.

Pichai doesn’t recall exactly which building he was in when Dean presented his work, though odd details of that day have stuck with him. He remembers standing, rather than sitting, and someone joking about an HR snafu that had designated the newly hired Geoffrey Hinton—the “Father of Deep Learning,” an AI researcher for four decades, and, later, a Turing Award winner—as an intern.

The future CEO of Google was an SVP at the time, running Chrome and Apps, and he hadn’t been thinking about AI. No one at Google was, really, not in a significant way.

Yes, Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin had stated publicly 12 years prior that artificial intelligence would transform the company: “The ideal search engine is smart,” Page told Online magazine in May 2000.

“It has to understand your query, and it has to understand all the documents, and that’s clearly AI.” But at Google and elsewhere, machine learning had been delivering meager results for decades, despite grand promises.




[Illustration: Gabriel Silveira]

Now, though, powerful forces were stirring inside Google’s servers. For a little more than a year, Dean, Andrew Ng, and their colleagues had been building a massive network of interconnected computers, linked together in ways modeled on the human brain.

The team had engineered 16,000 processors in 1,000 computers, which—­combined—were capable of making 1 billion connections. This was unprecedented for a computer system, though still far from a human brain’s capacity of more than 100 trillion connections.

To test how this massive neural net processed data, the engineers had run a deceptively simple experiment. For three days straight, they had fed the machine a diet of millions of random images from videos on YouTube, which Google had acquired in 2006. They gave it no other instructions, waiting to see what it would do if left on its own.

What they learned was that a computer brain bingeing on YouTube is not so different from a human’s. In a remote part of the computer’s memory, Dean and his peers discovered that it had spontaneously generated a blurry, over­pixelated image of one thing it had seen repeatedly over the course of 72 hours: a cat.This was a machine teaching itself to think.

The day he watched this kind of intelligence emerge from Google’s servers for the first time, Pichai remembers feeling a shift in his thinking, a sense of premonition. “This thing was going to scale up and maybe reveal the way the universe works,” he says. “This will be the most important thing we work on as humanity.

”The rise of AI inside Google resembles a journey billions of us are on collectively, hurtling into a digital future that few of us fully understand—and that we can’t opt out of. One dominated in large part by Google. Few other companies (let alone governments) on the planet have the ability or ambition to advance computerized thought.

Google operates more products, with 1 billion users, than any other tech company on earth: Android, Chrome, Drive, Gmail, Google Play Store, Maps, Photos, Search, and YouTube. Unless you live in China, if you have an internet connection, you almost certainly rely on Google to augment some parts of your brain.Shortly after Pichai took over as CEO, in 2015, he set out to remake Google as an “AI first” company.

It already had several research-oriented AI divisions, including Google Brain and DeepMind (which it acquired in 2014), and Pichai focused on turning all that intelligence about intelligence into new and better Google products. Gmail’s Smart Compose, introduced in May 2018, is already suggesting more than 2 billion characters in email drafts each week.

Google Translate can re-create your own voice in a language you don’t speak. And Duplex, Google’s AI-powered personal assistant, can book appointments or reservations for you by phone using a voice that sounds so human, many recipients of the calls weren’t aware it was a robot, raising ethical questions and public complaints.

The company says it has always disclosed to consumers that the calls are coming from Google.



[Illustration: Gabriel Silveira]

The full reach of Google’s AI influence stretches far beyond the company’s offerings. Outside developers—at startups and big corporations alike—now use Google’s AI tools to do everything from training smart satellites to monitoring changes to the earth’s surface to rooting out abusive language on Twitter (well, it’s trying).

There are now millions of devices using Google AI, and this is just the beginning. Google is on the verge of achieving what’s known as quantum supremacy. This new breed of computer will be able to crack complex equations a million or more times faster than regular ones.

We are about to enter the rocket age of computing.Used for good, artificial intelligence has the potential to help society. It may find cures to deadly diseases (Google execs say that its intelligent machines have demonstrated the ability to detect lung cancer a full year earlier than human doctors), feed the hungry, and even heal the climate.

A paper submitted to a Cornell University science journal in June by several leading AI researchers (including ones affiliated with Google) identified several ways machine learning can address climate change, from accelerating the development of solar fuels to radically optimizing energy usage.Used for ill, AI has the potential to empower tyrants, crush human rights, and destroy democracy, freedom, and privacy.

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a report in June titled “The Dawn of Robot Surveillance” that warned how millions of surveillance cameras (such as those sold by Google) already installed across the United States could employ AI to enable government monitoring and control of citizens. This is already happening in parts of China.

A lawsuit filed that same month accuses Google of using AI in hospitals to violate patients’ privacy.

Every powerful advance in human history has been used for both good and evil. The printing press enabled the spread of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” but also Adolf Hitler’s fascist manifesto “Mein Kampf.

” With AI, however, there’s an extra dimension to this predicament: The printing press doesn’t choose the type it sets. AI, when it achieves its full potential, would be able to do just that.

Now is the time to ask questions. “Think about the kinds of thoughts you wish people had inventing fire, starting the industrial revolution, or [developing] atomic power,” says Greg Brockman, cofounder of OpenAI, a startup focused on building artificial general intelligence that received a $1 billion investment from Microsoft in July.

Parties on both the political left and right argue that Google is too big and needs to be broken up. Would a fragmented Google democratize AI? Or, as leaders at the company warn, would it hand AI supremacy to the Chinese government, which has stated its intention to take the lead? President Xi Jinping has committed more than $150 billion toward the goal of becoming the world’s AI leader by 2030.

Inside Google, dueling factions are competing over the future of AI. Thousands of employees are in revolt against their leaders, trying to stop the tech they’re building from being used to help governments spy or wage war.

How Google decides to develop and deploy its AI may very well determine whether the technology will ultimately help or harm humanity. “Once you build these [AI] systems, they can be deployed across the whole world,” explains Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn cofounder and VC who’s on the board of the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University.

“That means anything [their creators] get right or wrong will have a correspondingly massive-scale impact.”“In the beginning, the neural network is untrained,” says Jeff Dean one glorious spring evening in Mountain View, California.

He is standing under a palm tree just outside the Shoreline Amphitheatre, where Google is hosting a party to celebrate the opening day of I/O, its annual technology showcase.

This event is where Google reveals to developers—and the rest of the world—where it is heading next. Dean, in a mauve-gray polo, jeans, sneakers, and a backpack double-strapped to his shoulders, is one of the headliners. “It’s like meeting Bono,” gushes one Korean software programmer who rushed over to take a selfie with Dean after he spoke at one event earlier in the day.

“Jeff is God,” another tells me solemnly, almost surprised that I don’t already know this. Around Google, Dean is often compared to Chuck Norris, the action star known for his kung fu moves and taking on multiple assailants at once.“Oh, that looks good! I’ll have one of those,” Dean says with a grin as a waiter stops by with a tray of vegan tapioca pudding cups.

Leaning against a tree, he speaks about neural networks the way Laird Hamilton might describe surfing the Teahupo’o break. His eyes light up and his hands move in sweeping gestures.

“Okay, so here are the layers of the network,” he says, grabbing the tree and using the grizzled trunk to explain how the neurons of a computer brain interconnect.

He looks intently at the tree, as though he sees something hidden inside it.Last year, Pichai named Dean head of Google AI, meaning that he’s responsible for what the company will invest in and build—a role he earned in part by scaling the YouTube neural net experiment into a new framework for training their machines to think on a massive scale.

That system started as an internal project called DistBelief, which many teams, including Android, Maps, and YouTube, began using to make their products smarter.But by the summer of 2014, as DistBelief grew inside Google, Dean started to see that it had flaws.

It had not been designed to adapt to technological shifts such as the rise of GPUs (the computer chips that process graphics) or the emergence of speech as a highly complex data set.

Also, DistBelief was not initially designed to be open source, which limited its growth. So he made a bold decision: Build a new version that would be open to all. In November 2015, Pichai introduced TensorFlow, Dist­Belief’s successor, one of his first big announcements as CEO.

It’s impossible to overstate the significance of opening TensorFlow to developers outside of Google. “People couldn’t wait to get their hands on it,” says Ian Bratt, director of machine learning at Arm, one of the world’s largest designers of computer chips. Today, Twitter is using it to build bots to monitor conversations, rank tweets, and entice people to spend more time in their feed.

 Airbus is training satellites to be able to examine nearly any part of the earth’s surface, within a few feet. Students in New Delhi have transformed mobile devices into air-quality monitors. This past spring, Google released early versions of TensorFlow 2.0, which makes its AI even more accessible to inexperienced developers.

The ultimate goal is to make creating AI apps as easy as building a website. TensorFlow has now been downloaded approximately 41 million times. Millions of devices—cars, drones, satellites, laptops, phones—use it to learn, think, reason, and create.

An internal company document shows a chart tracking the usage of TensorFlow inside Google (which, by extension, tracks machine learning projects): It’s up by 5,000% since 2015.Tech insiders, though, point out that if TensorFlow is a gift to developers, it may also be a Trojan horse.

“I am worried that they are trying to be the gatekeepers of AI,” says an ex-Google engineer, who asked not to be named because his current work is dependent on access to Google’s platform.

At present, TensorFlow has just one main competitor, Facebook’s PyTorch, which is popular among academics. That gives Google a lot of control over the foundational layer of AI, and could tie its availability to other Google imperatives. “Look at what [Google’s] done with Android,” this person continues.

Last year, European Union regulators levied a $5 billion fine on the company for requiring electronics manufacturers to pre-install Google apps on devices running its mobile operating system. Google is appealing, but it faces further investigations for its competitive practices in both Europe and India.

By helping AI proliferate, Google has created demand for new tools and products that it can sell. One example is Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), which are integrated circuits designed to accelerate applications using TensorFlow.

If developers need more power for their TensorFlow apps—and they usually do—they can pay Google for time and space using these chips running in Google data centers.TensorFlow’s success has won over the skeptics within Google’s leadership.

“Everybody knew that AI didn’t work,” Sergey Brin recalled to an interviewer at the World Economic Forum in 2017. “People tried it, they tried neural nets, and none of it worked.” Even when Dean and his team started making progress, Brin was dismissive.

“Jeff Dean would periodically come up to me and say, ‘Look, the computer made a picture of a cat,’ and I said, ‘Okay, that’s very nice, Jeff,’ ” he said. But he had to admit that AI was “the most significant development in computing in my lifetime.

”Stage 4 of the Shoreline Amphitheatre fits 526 people, and every seat is taken. It’s the second day of I/O, and Jen Gennai, Google’s head of responsible innovation, is hosting a session on “Writing the Playbook for Fair and Ethical Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

” She tells the crowd: “We’ve identified four areas that are our red lines, technologies that we will not pursue. We will not build or deploy weapons. We will also not deploy technologies that we feel violate international human rights.

” (The company also pledges to eschew technologies that cause “overall harm” and “gather or use information for surveillance, violating internationally accepted norms.”) She and two other Google executives go on to explain how the company now incorporates its AI principles into everything it builds, and that Google has a comprehensive plan for tackling everything from rooting out biases in its algorithms to forecasting the unintended consequences of AI.

After the talk, a small group of developers from different companies mingles, dissatisfied. “I don’t feel like we got enough,” observes one, an employee of a large international corporation that uses TensorFlow and frequently partners with Google.

“They are telling us, ‘Don’t worry about it. We got this.’ We all know they don’t ‘got this.’ ”These developers have every right to be skeptical. Google’s rhetoric has often contrasted with its actions, but the stakes are higher with artificial intelligence. Gizmodo was first to report, in March 2018, that the company had a Pentagon contract for AI drone-strike technology, dubbed Project Maven.

After Google employees protested for three months, Pichai announced that the contract would not be renewed. Shortly thereafter, another project came to light: Dragonfly, a search engine for Chinese users designed to be as powerful and ubiquitous as the one reportedly used for 94% of U.S. searches, except that it would also comply with China’s censorship rules, which ban content on some topics related to human rights, democracy, freedom of speech, and civil disobedience.

Dragonfly would also link users’ phone numbers to their searches. Employees protested for another four months, and activists attempted to enlist Amnesty International and Google shareholders in the fight. Last December Pichai told Congress, Google has no plans to launch the search engine in China.

[Illustration: Gabriel Silveira]

During that turmoil, a Google engineer confronted Dean directly about whether the company would continue working with oppressive regimes. “We need to know: What are the red lines?” the engineer tells me, echoing Google’s own verbiage. “I was pushing for: What are things you would never do? I never got clarification.” The employee quit in protest.

When asked today about the dark side of AI, the amiable Dean turns serious. “People in my organization were very outspoken about what we should be doing with the Department of Defense,” he says, referring to their work on Maven. Dean invokes Google’s list of AI applications that it won’t pursue.

“One of them is work on autonomous weapons. That, to me, is something I don’t want to work on or have anything to do with,” he says, looking me straight in the eyes.

Amid the initial Project Maven controversy, The Intercept and The New York Times published emails that revealed Google’s internal concerns about how the extent of its AI ambitions might be received.

“I don’t know what would happen if the media starts picking up a theme that Google is secretly building AI weapons,” Fei-Fei Li, then Google Cloud’s chief AI scientist (and one of the authors of Google’s AI principles), told colleagues in one of them.

“Avoid at ALL COSTS any mention or implication of AI. Weaponized AI is probably one of the most sensitized topics of AI—if not THE most. This is red meat to the media to find all the ways to damage Google.

” She also suggested that the company plant some positive PR stories about Google’s democratization of AI and something described as humanistic AI. “I’d be super careful to protect these very positive images,” she wrote. (Li declined to be interviewed for this story.

She has since left the company to co-lead Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute.) These AI protests have created an ongoing PR crisis. In March, the company announced an Advanced Technology External Advisory Council, colloquially known as its AI ethics board, but it fell apart just over a week later when thousands of Google employees protested its makeup.

The board had included a drone-company CEO and the president of the right-wing Heritage Foundation, who had made public statements that were transphobic and denied climate change.Pichai himself has stepped in several times.

Last November, he wrote to employees, acknowledging Google’s missteps. “We recognize that we have not always gotten everything right in the past and we are sincerely sorry for that,” he said. “It’s clear we need to make some changes.” But controversy continues to dog Google on how it deploys technology.

In August, an employee organization called Googlers for Human Rights released a public petition with more than 800 signatures asking the company not to offer any tech to Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the Office of Refugee Resettlement. (A representative for Google responds that the company supports employee activism.)

When I ask Pichai about how Google’s AI principles influence his own work, he connects it to another corporate priority: assuaging concerns about what Google does with all the user data it possesses.

“What I am pushing the teams on is around AI and privacy,” he says. “It’s a bit counterintuitive, but I think AI gives us a chance to enhance privacy.” Last spring he discussed efforts within Google to use machine learning to protect data on a smartphone from being accessed by anyone other than its owner.He says fears about the dangers of AI are overblown.

“It’s important for people to understand what not to worry about, too, which is, it’s really early, and we do have time,” he explains.

Pichai hopes that Google can quell any disquiet over AI’s dangers by showcasing its virtue. Under an initiative dubbed AI for Social Good, Google is deploying its machine learning to solve what it describes as “the world’s greatest social, humanitarian, and environmental problems.

” There are teams harnessing AI to forecast floods, track whales, diagnose cancer, and detect illegal mining and logging. At I/O, one young entrepreneur from Uganda, invited by Google, spoke of using TensorFlow to track army worms across Africa, a cause of famine throughout the continent. Google’s AI Impact Challenge, launched in 2018, offers $25 million in grants to charities and startups applying AI to causes such as saving rain forests and fighting fires.

The company has also pulled back on two controversial initiatives amid the AI debate. Last December, Google shelved its facial-recognition software, even as rival Amazon moved forward with its own version despite its own employee protests and charges that it enables law enforcement to racially profile citizens.

One insider estimates that the move could cost Google billions in revenue. The company also withdrew from bidding on a $10 billion project to provide cloud computing to the Pentagon, citing ethical concerns. Amazon and Microsoft are still in the running.

When asked how Google determines whether a project is good or bad for society, Pichai cites something called “the lip-reading project.” A team of engineers had an idea to use AI in cameras to read lips. The intention was to enable communication for nonverbal people. However, some raised concerns about unintended consequences.

Could bad actors use it for surveillance through, say, street cameras? The engineers tested it on street cams, CCTV, and other public cameras, and determined that the AI needs to be close-up to work. Google published a paper detailing the effort, confident that, for now, it can be used safely.

It’s a sunny afternoon in Santa Barbara, California, but the thermometer inside Google’s lab reads 10 millikelvin, about 1/100th of a kelvin above absolute zero. “This is one of the coldest places in the universe,” Erik Lucero, a research scientist working in the lab, tells me. “Inside of this,” he says, pointing to a shiny metal container, “is colder than space.

” The vessel is the size and shape of an oil drum, made of copper and plated with real gold. Thick wires made out of niobium-­titanium emerge from the top, octopus-­like, carrying control and measurement signals to and from its processor.This barrel encases one of the most fragile and potentially most powerful machines on earth: a quantum computer.

If all goes as planned, it will turbocharge the capabilities of artificial intelligence in ways that may well reshape how we think about the universe—and humanity’s place in it.

The dream of quantum computing has been around since the ’80s, when Richard Feynman, an original member of the Manhattan Project, which built the atomic bomb, began theorizing ways to unlock computing power by adapting the quantum mechanics used to create nuclear science.

 Today, our computers run on bits of information that equal either zero or one in value; they have to calculate outcomes, probabilities, and equations step-by-step, serially exhausting every option before arriving at an answer. Quantum computers, by contrast, create qubits, where zeros and ones can exist simultaneously.

This allows qubits to process certain kinds of information far faster. How much faster? One widely cited example is that a 300-qubit computer could perform as many simultaneous calculations as there are atoms in the universe.

“Those are actually qubits,” Lucero says, directing me to look under a microscope, where I see some fuzzy black Xs. There are 22 of them.

This is the smaller batch. Elsewhere in the lab, Google has created 72 qubits. For now, they can only survive for 20 microseconds, and conditions have to be colder than outer space.

In order to create a commercially viable quantum computer, Google will need to produce enough qubits and keep them stable and error-free long enough to be able to make any major computing breakthroughs.

Other labs are competing here, too, but Google has assembled some of the world’s foremost experts to find ways to create an environment in which qubits can survive and thrive. It’s moving faster toward this goal than anyone expected: Last December, Google tested its best quantum processor against a regular laptop, and the laptop won.

A few weeks later, after some adjustments to the processor, it beat the laptop, but still lagged behind a desktop computer. In February, the quantum computer outmatched every other computer in the lab.

Hartmut Neven, who leads Google’s quantum team, presented the lab’s advances during Google’s Quantum Spring Symposium in May, describing the increases in processing power as double exponential, a mind-­bending equation that looks like this:

221, 222, 223, 224

Within computer science circles, this growth rate for quantum computing has been dubbed Neven’s law, a nod to Moore’s law, which posits that “classical” computing advances by doubling the number of transistors that can fit on a chip every 18 months.

Now Google’s team is honing in on the major milestone known as quantum supremacy. It will still be years before Google’s quantum computer reaches its full potential. But in the lab, the anticipation of this moment is palpable.

“There are currently problems that humanity [will] not be able to solve without a quantum computer,” Lucero says, standing next to the machine poised to achieve this feat. “The whole idea that you are jumping into a new potential for humankind, that’s exciting.

”The room hums rhythmically, the sound of qubits hatching. What will it mean for humanity when computers can think and calculate at exponentially faster speeds—and on parallel planes? This emerging science may be able to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe—dark matter, black holes, the human brain.

“It’s the ‘Hello, World!’ moment,” Lucero says, referring to the 1984 introduction of Macintosh, the computer that launched a new era for a generation of coders. As Google opens the door to this new cosmos, we all need to get ready for what’s on the other side.

A version of this article appeared in the October 2019 issue of Fast Company magazine.

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.

Author: Hilary Sutcliffe, Director, SocietyInside & Conrad von Kameke, Director, BioInnovators EuropeTo harness the power of new technologies for social good, the UN, governments, businesses and civil society groups are calling for new frameworks for global, national and local cooperation around technology development.

These may require a redesign of systems, new models, new skills and new mindsets to rise to the opportunities and challenges posed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

This will be tough for policymakers, businesses and for citizens – we humans don’t much like upheaval and change, particularly at the current speed and scale that seems unlikely to slow down.

So what should we consider when designing policy and governance to focus new technologies on the flourishing of people and the planet, without causing more problems than they solve?

Remember – ‘tech is not like weather’

With the sheer pace of change, it is understandable that many feel technology development is out of control; like we’re strapped to a speeding train, trying desperately to figure out whether that’s a light at the end of the tunnel or another train coming to flatten us.

While technological advancement can be exciting, it can also be disempowering and unnerving, not least for policymakers, as tech appears to move faster than the capacity to steer or govern it. But the 2018 Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer urges us to remember that, “Technology is not like weather, it doesn’t just happen to us.

” He reminds us that technology is fundamentally under our control and “if we collectively set our minds to improving technology, we can improve it in a direction that seems to be important to us and at a faster rate”.


While there have been some significant technology mis-steps in recent times, there are also many examples where we are indeed “collectively setting our minds” to creating positive change and basing policy and tech development on human values.

Check out the uses of AI4good, or great stories on TechForGood, or even join people in your area bringing the Sustainable Development Goals to life in SDGsInAction.

Make values and ethics central to policy and tech development

The vision of the WEF Global Future Council on Values, Ethics and Innovation is “to make it normal to discuss values and ethics and bring them to life in policy, investment, business and governance”.

It might seem obvious that the well-being of people and the sustainability of the planet would be at the core of these critical areas, which control every aspect of our lives. What seems almost bizarre, is that it is currently seen as “normal” to deliberately avoid these issues in many areas of policy and business as irrelevant at best, or even as inhibiting, in pursuit of narrow, mostly economic goals.

Discussing perhaps doesn’t feel purposeful enough. But psychology tells us that making something a normal topic of discussion is a massive first step in creating change.

If policymakers, governance designers as well as technology developers, and even researchers, started more often by discussing how they can work more closely with society to understand the values and ethics underpinning their work, that would be hopeful. If they then took the practical steps to embed these values even more in their policies, governance instruments, research projects and products, it would be transformative.

Again, there are signs of real hope. Global debates about the values and ethics of data use, artificial intelligence, robotics and gene-editing are omnipresent. There is no shortage of discussion and debate about how values can better influence policy and governance, R&D and product development – though only time will tell how effectively this is connected to real action and behaviour change.

Join the dots – integration essential

The recent World Economic Forum white paper Values, Ethics and Innovation Rethinking Technological Development in the Fourth Industrial Revolution highlights the importance of a systemic approach to policy. One which explores where and how values and ethics can be integrated into policy, from education to funding, product design to governance.

The report outlines a compelling vision. It illustrates that only through a genuine joined-up approach, with new collaborations and partnerships between policy, academia, business and civil society working across the entire innovation ecosystem, can we begin to really influence priorities and actions at every level to help design the 4IR from the bottom up, as safer, more equitable, and more sustainable than those that went before.

The First Empowerment Revolution

One of the defining characteristics of the 4IR is that citizens are no longer compliant and trusting of those with power. Many companies and policymakers are seeing a transformation brought about by social media and mobile technologies, where many more are able to express themselves directly and powerfully to challenge the status quo.

Perhaps what we are seeing is not just a Fourth Industrial Revolution, but a First Empowerment Revolution?

Vocal citizens across the globe are demanding that their views are listened and responded to, as can be observed from the Arab Spring to current political developments in the US and Europe.

But the reach of this phenomenon goes well beyond these examples. It also occurs in a more focused, 4IR-related context: think of employee opposition such as that of Google’s employees’ against the proposed censored search engine in China, or Microsoft employees’ concerns about AI being used for the US military.

A new, empowered, vocal society may be quite unnerving, particularly to those who are used to having a sense of control. It could feel anarchic, chaotic, worrying, difficult to know how to respond.

Our work exploring the roots of trust and distrust in technologies and governance sought to understand how other intractable disputes, such as peace negotiations, are conducted successfully.

There is a rich seam of knowledge yet to be explored, but three key factors appear paramount in designing successful collaborations from a base of potential conflict:

• Process matters; it is through collaboratively designed, trustworthy processes that we will best be able to navigate the potentially conflicting priorities, difficult trade-offs and clashes of values that will be an inevitable part of navigating the complexities of the 4IR.

1. A shared belief that the status quo is not working for all parties.

2. The smallest glimmer of shared values and a shared mission, which offer a connection to the greater good as well as everyone’s self-interest can move things forward into a space that didn’t exist before.

The Sustainable Development Goals provide us with much more than a glimmer of hope; they offer us a go-to agenda that can help shape technology to be more inclusive, responsive and focused on social and environmental good.

3. Processes that are designed to embed respect for each other and earn the trust of diverse parties, with evidence of that respect being clear to all.

Process matters; it is through collaboratively designed, trustworthy processes that we will best be able to navigate the potentially conflicting priorities, difficult trade-offs and clashes of values that will be an inevitable part of navigating the complexities of the 4IR.

It may not be easy, but creating a world in which people and planet flourish like never before is most certainly worth our utmost effort.

Turning Point: A World Bank report concludes that more than 143 million people will become “climate migrants” escaping crop failure, water scarcity and sea-level rise.When culture and recreation come together communities emerge. 

When communities become societies a settlement is formed.
In those realities we inhabit our aspirations of togetherness.Sustainable cities are like a forest: ever-growing and diverse. In a forest, each branch, each trunk, each tree is unique, blossoming in its own way.

Yet everything is connected. Everything in the forest has its role in a cosmic symphony. The city is no different.The city, too, is an organism, both stable and fluid, static and constantly transforming. Humans are a part of the city’s inner mechanism, just as our cells are a part of us. Streets act as veins, connecting us to a network of life similar to a bio-diverse forest.

So why do we not see our cities, our towns, our hamlets as biotechnological entities? Why do we do not plan and build them in natural ways that reignite the spirit of community, the spirit of a positive participatory culture?Consider Jaipur, where Maharajah Sawai Jai Singh II ruled in 18th-century India. He envisioned the city as a paradise on earth.

Taking into account the constantly changing climate, as well as the movement of the sun, Mr. Singh created a city built around guilds and clusters of sustainable, cooperative housing. As Jaipur cultivated the body, the mind and the spirit, it thrived socially, economically and culturally.

Jaipur recalls the ancient vastu purusha mandala — a philosophy of design that aims to create a balanced and healthy environment. This ancient science shaped most of India’s traditional settlements, where seasonal activities such as festivals and fairs take place. The mandala adapts to totally different climates and places, and, in turn, inspires them.

Unfortunately, we have since forgotten this soulful approach to architecture and design, following instead the prevailing planning model of big budgets, large-scale structures and isolated behaviors. Consequently, our habitations have become fragmented and we fail to see the city’s infrastructure and life in an integrated way.
The Palace of Winds in Jaipur, an Indian city that thrived in the 18th century.CreditVijay Mathur/Reuters


Image

The Palace of Winds in Jaipur, an Indian city that thrived in the 18th century.CreditVijay Mathur/Reuters


Instead of building more megastructures — which constantly consume time, energy, and human and natural resources — should we not follow a more natural, biological approach to architecture that would foster small but comprehensive clusters of settlements and perhaps create a new world?

These smaller settlements would be sustainable and replicable. They would be full of energy and vitality, but they would not grow beyond a certain size. They would possess the same virtues as a bio-diverse network.Such settlements would not waste time or energy or natural resources. The inhabitants would have global skills and a suitable, fulfilling lifestyle.

This, as a result, could help salvage our planet from the present disasters and disparities that spawn anxiety and doubt about the future. Often while visiting ancient towns and cities, which are socially, economically and culturally well-knit, we are struck by a strange, unexpected silence and slowness.

Our desire to push, to achieve, to conquer dwindles, and we think more of how nature connects us and how we can share and revere our intrinsic selves.In addition to such quietude, other aesthetic measures of settlements include grace, love, compassion and humility.

To animate a settlement one must create humble and tender connections, which encourage humans to come together and to share and to feel themselves a part of a larger order, a part of Mother Earth.In ancient Indian texts, the sthapati (the architect or planner) has to be aware of the sustainable cycles of nature, following the laws of time and energy, just as our ecosystem does.

The sthapati is obliged to integrate this natural flow with the lives of a settlement’s inhabitants. This method of interdependent planning allows for cultural activities and social integration. This form of sustainable architecture gives all individuals, regardless of class or creed, the ability to connect with their true natures.


Balkrishna Doshi

Isn’t this why some Japanese homes have a small bonsai tree to remind them of their connection to the eternal mystery of existence?Today, though we are globally connected, we are lost spiritually.

Prana — the subtle energy that can only be felt — is the missing link that, if ignited, could enliven the spirit of the community once again.Can we not apply these planning philosophies in the present to create a lasting environment of positive participatory culture?
Watch Oscar-nominated short documentaries from around the world made for you.

Balkrishna Doshi is the Pritzker Prize laureate for 2018, the first Indian winner of the architecture world’s most prestigious award. This is an article from Turning Points, a magazine that explores what critical moments from this year might mean for the year ahead.

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Technology develops faster than ever these days. As it develops in new and unexpected ways, we're left to wonder the implications of what it can mean for our everyday lives and how it will change them.

Some have argued that the technological advancements of today place society in an industrial revolution, the fourth since the late 18th century. What would separate this fourth industrial revolution, though, is the direct relation it has to the preceding one - the "digital revolution" - before it.

So, what is this fourth industrial revolution? What technology is a part of it and what is its impact?

Fourth Industrial Revolution

The First Industrial Revolution is famous for industrializing agricultural work with advances like the cotton gin and steam engine. The Second Industrial Revolution, in the late 19th and early 20th century, brought iron and steel into industry. The Third Industrial Revolution, the Digital Revolution, is the age of the computer and the internet.

That is an age we still live in, but a supposed Fourth Industrial Revolution seeks to develop digital technology further. It takes the digitization of our society and seeks to explore new uses for it while still advancing the technology. From smart technology to cyber-physical systems, this age of technology seems to be more about pushing the limits of what digital technology can do throughout any possible field.

This is another thing it shares with the Digital Revolution; while the First Industrial Revolution was primarily for agriculture, both the Third and Fourth Industrial Revolutions are marked by technological advancements that can affect all industries in astonishing ways.

Who Coined the Term?

Certainly it wasn't difficult to call it the Fourth Industrial Revolution, considering there were three before it. So who decided that we had officially entered this new era?

The person who coined it in its most relevant sense was Professor Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, using it as the title of a 2016 book. Due to the high-tech nature of this age, it has also been referred to as Industry 4.0, or I4.0.

The Technology of the Revolution

We're being told we're entering a Fourth Industrial Revolution, but the technology we use the most - our computers, our phones, our video game consoles - are part of the Digital Revolution. What burgeoning technology of Industry 4.0 is on the horizon, and what is already here?

Some of the more fascinating advancements that have already begun are virtual reality and artificial intelligence, or VR and AI. In addition to the VR technology now available in video games, most notable with Oculus Go, it is now available for live television. BBC made it possible to watch the 2018 World Cup via virtual reality.

A VR headset wasn't a necessary purchase, as it worked through smartphones and tablets as well.AI, meanwhile, has gone from a crazy futuristic thing in movies to something that autocompletes sentences and responds when you ask for Siri on your smartphone. It has been casually integrated into your everyday technology, and will be integral to  self-driving cars, a technological advancement that people have anticipated for years.

It's an interesting quirk to contemporary society that AI went from something many feared to something that corporations gave a cute human name to so you'd feel comfortable asking it to help you shop.


In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we've applied the internet to our outside lives. Order a package from Amazon (AMZN - Get Report) or a pizza from Domino's? (DPZ - Get Report) Now you can stare at your computer or phone and track it from start to finish.

The rapid advancements of technology's capabilities are affecting our warehouses, farms and hospitals as robotics gets more and more impressive. It has, though, led to ethical questions about automation.

Potential Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

This industrial revolution brings potential for incredible change worldwide - both good and bad.

In many ways, these advances can bring incredible innovations. Information is more convenient to find, and new strides are being made in productivity and efficiency in a number of industries. Communication is faster and more readily available around the world.

Some have high hopes of using the technology from this era to improve the world in ways like limiting carbon emissions. There are lots of ways to look at the way technology is advancing and teeming with potential to better our earth.

However, we would be wearing some awfully rose-tinted glasses by saying that is all it can do. There is tremendous risk in all of this. There is fear that continued automation in so many industries could lead to millions finding themselves out of work. This is also arguably true about aspects of Industry 4.0 that "disrupt" other industries, which can lead to less consistent work and lower wages.

With all the data used to enhance and personalize AI, we have also become a far less private society. This data can include personal information, and data breaches in large companies are more common than anyone would prefer.Bioengineering and biotechnology are impressive on a scientific level, but how are they being used?

Biotechnology can be of great use in improving prosthetic limbs, but the potential for genetic modification brings up an ethical dilemma. Bioengineering and robotics can cause great strides in the medical field among other industries, but they can also be used to destructive ends as well.

This is the confusing and fascinating element of being in the beginning of a new technological revolution. So much is evolving so fast, and so many people have different intended uses for these innovations. In his book, Schwab calls on everyone, those in charge of these new technologies in particular, to think critically about the ends to which they can be used, and how they can benefit the people.

BY POLINA CHERNYKH 

Overstock founder Patrick Byrne is now going away from retail to concentrate completely on blockchain, even despite the recent collapse on the cryptocurrency market.

The founder and CEO of the US retail giant Overstock, Patrick Byrne, has unveiled he is shifting its focus to the blockchain business, as he’s confident the technology will revolutionize today’s world.

“The blockchain revolution has a greater potential than anything we’ve seen in history. It’s bigger than the Internet revolution, how it’s going to restructure society,” Byrne told Fox Business host, Stuart Varney.

When asked about the recent cryptocurrency crash, Byrne noted he doesn’t see point in monitoring daily changes in cryptocurrency’s value.

“What coins are doing on any given day is silly,” he answered.In fact, the transition began back in 2014, Byrne said, and the company has made important achievements during these years. “We now have very interesting positions in 19 blockchain companies,” he added. “Next year is when you will see blockchain really start coming out with products into the world.

You’ll see blockchain products in Q1.”Speaking of what kind of blockchain-based products we’ll be able to use next year, Byrne said: “You’ll be able to trade security tokens. There’s a whole new class of securities coming into existence called security tokens.

”“In five years, everyone will be tokenized,” he said, recalling the words of Nasdaq’s chairman, Robert Greifeld, who said last year that every stock and bond on Wall Street could be tokenized.

“The architecture of Wall Street as we know it is going to be deprecated over five years and replaced with something called security tokens. If that’s true, we built the Nasdaq, the DTCC, and the New York Stock Exchange of that world. We spent the last four years and $100 million building it.

”Comparing a security token to a stock, Byrne said it has three advantages: 90% lower friction costs, complete transparency for the regulators, and immunity from market manipulation.

When asked about crypto mining, Byrne admitted the cryptocurrency is costly to mine, but mentioned the project Ravencoin, which Overstock invested in earlier this year. Ravencoin can reduce energy consumption because it can be scaled to 1000 times the capacity and block reward of bitcoin.

Overstock to Focus on Medici Ventures Unit

Overstock is now preparing to sell its retail business to focus solely on blockchain, Byrne told The Wall Street Journal last week. The company will instead concentrate on growing Medici Ventures, which comprises several startups, including its blockchain-based trading platform tZero.

“Being the guy who pedals along and makes $10 to $20 million a year wasn’t sustainable,” Byrne said. “[With Medici,] we have maybe several multibillion-dollar properties in there.

”Byrne believes tZero holds huge potential. In August, the Hong Kong-based equity firm GSR Capital invested as much as $400 million in Overstock and its tZero subsidiary.

The platform, however, is not yet profitable. Its commercial launch is planned next year, but Overstock is already losing money because of it.Medici Ventures has registered losses of $39 million in the first nine months of 2018, while Overstock lost $163.7 million within the same period. Still, the company kept investing in blockchain startups, which include Bitsy, SiteHelix, and Chainstone Labs.

Tim Draper: ‘Bitcoin to Overtake Fiat Currency’

VC investor Tim Draper echoes Byrne’s optimism regarding the future of the technology. The billionaire has recently shared his cryptocurrency predictions, saying that bitcoin will reach $250,000 by 2022.In a recent interview, Draper said he’s confident the global economy will soon switch to digital currency, making up two-thirds of the world’s currency value.

Moreover, he believes the cryptocurrency will eventually overtake fiat money, as it will be easier for people to invest bitcoin.

By Mary Kan D'Andrea  |  November 8, 2018, 2:28 PM  |  Techonomy Exclusive    Andela co-founder Christina Sass will be speaking at Techonomy 2018 this Tuesday. Tune in to our homepage to see her live from our stage.“Brilliance is evenly distributed,” said Andela co-founder Christina Sass onstage at Techonomy NYC in May 2018.

She was talking about people. Her company aims to be the answer to a software development and programming talent shortage, widening the search so employers can find them in new places. In the process, Andela is creating economic opportunity in developing countries.




Tolu Komolafe, one of Andela’s most senior developers, and co-founder of the Ladies in Tech organization, at work in EPIC Tower in Lagos, Nigeria. (Photo courtesy of Andela)

According to Code.org and statistics from The Conference Board, there are more than 544,000 open computing jobs in the United States, more positions than the nation’s universities and colleges can hope to fill with recent graduates.

Andela’s response is to identify talented young people in Africa, train them in software development, and place them in jobs at companies around the world without requiring them to move.

Andela offers a window into a promising possible future for work: A distributed workforce that is more diverse and creates economic opportunity where there was little before.

Founded in 2014 and venture funded, Andela serves as a recruiter, filling open developer roles at partner companies. But it does so by turning to the largely untapped talent pool of Africa, home to some of the world’s fastest-growing internet-savvy populations as well as sophisticated tech enclaves. Using tests and boot camps, the company selects coders and programmers and then trains them for six months.

These young coders often have educational backgrounds in computer science, though they generally lack the practical experience needed to turn their studies into a career. But with Andela, they don’t get your usual workplace training experience.

On top of receiving a computer, salary, and professional training, the package includes subsidized housing and regular meals. The company’s budding developers are then contracted out to companies across the globe, working remotely.

At times the developers head to lengthy, on-site visits at their contract companies in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, building work relationships and solidifying ties. Andela serves as the employer of record but assigns each worker full-time to the client. Some now have already worked for their companies for more than two years.

Since July 2016, Andela has partnered with The Zebra, a car insurance comparison site, which has brought 13 engineers onto their team in Austin, Texas. “In addition to [their] technical contributions, they’ve also brought an energy that is infectious,” Meetesh Karia, CTO of The Zebra says of the Andela engineers. “They’ve become a core part of our team.

”Andela has attracted $81 million in funding from investors including South African-based venture capital firm CRE Venture Capital, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Spark Capital, among others. And the company is swimming in qualified applicants, enabling it to hire only the most talented coders.

It now has more than 1,200 employees, many based in African urban hubs, including Lagos, Nigeria; Nairobi, Kenya; and Kampala, Uganda, with more to come.

Andela’s Kigali, Rwanda office is slated to open in January 2019. This company’s aspirations go way beyond its own profits. Andela hopes that the jump-start it gives trainees will not only give them work experience but inspire them to found local or global startups of their own.

UK MP Alan Mak has called on the country's private sector to play its part in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) as the country attempts to stay at the forefront of the global digital revolution post-Brexit.

Mak, who also works as parliamentary private secretary to the UK secretary of state for business Greg Clark MP, a noted "Remainer", said: "We're seeing an enormous shift in the amount of data available to businesses and their ability to analyze that data and use it to help them to push the boundaries of innovation and growth.

"Speaking at the launch of The Fourth Industrial Revolution Report 2018, Mak said: "We are at the start of a new technological era that will transform the way we live and do business in a way not seen since the invention of the steam engine or the printing press.

"This new digital revolution will transform every sector, from financial services and manufacturing, to agri-food and energy. It will transform every sector within our economy.

"Mak, who founded and chairs the 4IR All-Party Parliamentary Group at Westminster, said that the new report asked whether Britain could become a data leader in a post-Brexit world.

"My view, and the view of the British Government, is that it will and it must," Mak answered. "Embracing data is not just an option, it's absolutely vital."As every aspect of society moves toward digitalization, Mak argued that society as a whole needs to "move away from using the term AI" and adopt a "whole economy approach".

"In the future," he stressed, "every sector of the UK economy and within the economies of every country around the world will be a tech sector."For our country and other countries around the world, it will mean increasing productivity, growing wages, more jobs, stronger economic growth, but above all, rising living standards."




Citing The Fourth Industrial Revolution Report 2018, Mak said that businesses were starting to take data challenges seriously, noting that key data issues were now front of mind for CEOs and board members.

The 2017 version of the report noted that no CEOs were in charge of data issues – a figure that has grown to 15% in the 2018 edition.

Mak stated, however, that businesses approaching the data revolution would require a cultural shift in management and leadership, ensuring that the workforce is brought along on the digital transformation journey.

"We have to be very frank about which roles will be carried out by machines and which tasks will be carried out by humans," he noted.With demand for AI skills in the UK almost tripling over the last three years, according to job-searching website Indeed, Mak said that the UK government was aware that it needed to improve digital literacy across all strata of society.

"People will succeed in this revolution by being more human," Mak said, noting that the UK government was prioritizing STEM skills in schools, as well as introducing new technical-level qualification for the post-16 education sector, many courses of which have been scheduled to come online by 2020.

As a Director at Verizon’s 5G Labs across the country, I help foster the cutting edge work across our ecosystem of co-working communities and Innovation Centers. I’m fortunate enough to witness across them how education and the evolving needs of the workforce are creating new dynamics to build the talent of today and tomorrow.

TALENT

Over the past few years I’ve spent a lot of time on university campuses working with (and learning from) the innovators of tomorrow before they enter the workforce.  The idea behind it is two-fold:

Each new class is native to a newer and more inherently digital world. Born with expectations and ideas from that generation that we could never truly understand,  we love to listen to them to hear their vision for how they want to change the world.
We believe that early investment in people and talent (time, mentorship, teaching, support) pays dividends in the long run. Whether they work for Verizon as an employee someday or with Verizon as a partner.

Along the way, we have observed a few fundamental shifts in how educators and programs are approaching curriculum innovation to keep up with the rapid digitization of our economy and subsequently our workforce.   Here are a few examples:

• Some university programs have looked externally to the market and observed what new digital tools are being used by both enterprises and the startups looking to disrupt them. They then integrate these tools into their class offerings. For example: Prototyping 101 with InDesign or Intro to VR/XR with Unity and Unreal Engine.

• Others have come to a realization that the best talent lies at the intersection of disciplines. Rei Inamoto (ex chief creative officer at AKQA) coined the notion of needing the trifecta of a hacker, hipster and hustler to build an efficient and successful team --  technical meets design meets business.

• Some schools have evolved this notion to combine two of the three to create hybrids: for example the creative technologist or the the technical MBA. My most successful hires have been some of these!

• The best university programs combine the first two approaches and are thinking about a mixture of entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial concentrations. Empowering the “creative technologist” to build a product a customer will love is great, but enabling them to navigate a cross functional team in a fortune 100 is very different than navigating that same process at a company of 100.  To prepare for this some of my favorite faculty have created classes in “Corporate Entrepreneurship” and programs like “Startup Studio”.

Time will tell which approaches are best suited to adapt with the market but I’m excited every time I come back to campus and see schools pivoting alongside the startups that spin out of them.

COMPANIES

On the hiring end of this talent is the startup, the company, the non-profit. More than ever, the large incumbents are trying to disrupt themselves before they are the recipients of startup disruption.  They are creating new ventures and spin outs to meet new technological change head-on before it happens.

But interestingly enough, they are also investing in and partnering with those potentially disruptive startups in new ways. And an entire industry has been made from bridging those two seemingly unlikely partners through things like corporate accelerators or venture studios (I’ve run a few awesome ones with TechStars, R/GA, and The Hive).

WHAT’S NEEDED

These two trends, creative approaches to curriculum innovation and creative approaches to corporate/startup partnerships, are presenting a unique moment in both learning and work.  Developing students who can operate across tech and business AND startup and enterprise is a goal schools and institutions should strive to achieve.

As we move through the Fourth Industrial Revolution, accelerated by 5G technology, our ecosystem and community has an unprecedented opportunity to drive better societal outcomes by encouraging these intersections through education.

My favorite book is Clayton Christensen’s “Disrupting Class”. It talks about how education and learning should be approached with the same frameworks regarding innovation as industry: applying learnings from the Innovator’s Dilemma to reinvent the classroom.

I believe that we are in a technological and societal moment where the world can change for the better if we embrace new approaches and enablers like 5G.

They can empower educators to innovate further and allow industries that will be impacted by the Fourth Industrial Revolution to accept a new wave of students armed with new approaches to developing products in a 5G world.

I’m excited to watch as this next class of students, a fresh perspective unlike the class before them, drive a revolution that will create not only new economic growth but shared societal prosperity.

And it’s up to us to give students the tools, today, to make that change happen tomorrow.

For related media inquiries, please contact [email protected]

About the author(s): 

Christian Guirnalda leads Verizon's 5G Labs across NY, LA, DC, Cambridge, and SF which focus on educating and engaging innovators to build next generation experiences through Verizon's 5G Incubator.

Prior to this role, he was a part of Verizon Ventures where he invested in early stage companies, funds, and accelerators. 

Christian received a double major from Carnegie Mellon in Computing Technology and Manufacturing Management as well as an MBA from the University of Michigan.

If universities exist in part to solve the most pressing problems of our time, they have their work cut out for them.

The reality is that if humans maintain their current rate of consumption, which already exceeds the capacity of Earth to renew itself, we will soon need two planets to live off, National University of Singapore mechanical engineering professor and circular economy guru Seeram Ramakrishna told the annual South African Technology Network (SATN) Conference held in Durban, South Africa, last month, which explored the role of universities in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).

Against the backdrop of this shocking but real scenario, Dr Adriana Marais, theoretical physicist and one of the 100 Mars One Project astronauts, not only assumes the role of intrepid scientist, pushing the boundaries of knowledge, but she also becomes a pioneer of a new frontier for human habitation. 

Delivering the opening address of the conference, Marais outlined the ways in which the creation of a biosphere on Mars presented humankind with an opportunity to fundamentally re-examine the way it currently uses resources. 

Referring to the possibilities of asteroid mining as an example, she said conventional mining beneath Earth’s surface was disrupting delicate ecological systems resulting in dangers to miners and at a huge cost to the environment. “We cannot be increasing population and urbanising without changing our systems,” she said. “We have to change the way we extract resources.”

Describing Marais as “our champion” during his keynote address at the SATN conference, Ramakrishna said humans were eyeing planets such as Mars partly because of unsustainable consumption driven in part by a linear economic model in which resources were mined, used and then discarded, with a strong link between consumption of natural resources and economic growth.


Soaring consumption


“Why do we need planets like Mars? … Per capita consumption is soaring. Food consumption is increasing as well as manufactured products … Humans have consumed more resources in the last 50 years than in the last 30,000 years,” he said. 


A byproduct of a linear economy is, of course, waste. In the past 50 years, according to Ramakrishna, humans generated more waste than they have in all of previous history.

He said in many countries people were against the idea of repairing goods and sought rather to replace them with new items. The result is that in 2016, 44.7 million metric tons of e-waste was generated – equivalent in weight to 4,500 Eiffel Towers.


But all is not lost. Speaking on the topic of “The circular economy and the Fourth Industrial Revolution – Role of universities”, Ramakrishna’s key argument was that the 4IR and the new technologies it brings – robots, automation, the Internet of Things, big data analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, 3D printing and nanotechnology – hold the key to future sustainability and are in fact enablers for the circular economy – a model in which resources are kept in use for as long as possible, and then recovered and regenerated.

Ramakrishna, a leading academic in nanotechnology, is also leader of the National University of Singapore’s Circular Economy taskforce with members drawn from across the university, and various national research institutes under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore. He is an also advisor to the National Environment Agency of Singapore on Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy.

He said innovation and technology adoption will decide which countries succeed economically in the longer term. “While 20% of GDP [gross domestic product] growth is driven by labour and capital, 80% of growth is shaped by how fast you adapt and market them,” he said. 


Greater productivity


For Ramakrishna, the idea behind fourth industrial revolution technologies is to make us more productive and effective. “AI [artificial intelligence] will not only mean intelligent automation and machine vision but will influence cognitive systems and deep learning. Currently we learn and use technology; in future, technology will learn about us, and help us to be more productive and responsive,” he said.


Recent changes to the way in which waste was being managed globally – for instance China’s refusal to accept waste from the rest of the world; the European Union’s policies on single-use plastic; and the practice of generating metals from recycled electronic waste through ‘urban mining’ – were changing the dynamics of the global economy and presented major opportunities for emerging economies and their universities, he said. 


According to a 2015 book Waste to Wealth, by major management consulting firm Accenture Strategy, the circular economy could generate US$4.5 trillion of additional economic output by 2030. Ramakrishna said it could also create around 65 million new jobs around the world by 2030, all focused on sustainable industries. 

These initiatives should be considered by South African higher education institutions, which should adopt principles from the fourth industrial revolution and the circular economy to respond to societal questions and benefit people on the ground, he said.


Cleaner future


“Together, the circular economy and the 4IR are changing the world. They present a vision of a cleaner future, with huge opportunities,” he said. 

During the discussion that followed, Ramakrishna admitted that consumerism was “rampant” in parts of Asia – the product of a sense of entitlement that was unlikely to change. 

“When you talk to people, they say they are entitled to a better lifestyle and they translate that into access to more material goods. That’s the general perception or mindset of East Asians where I come from.

If you tell the population who are the first generation to be born into the technological environment that they can’t have those goods, it’s not likely they will buy into the idea. The best way is to come up with a new way of designing products and services and those new ways are 4IR technologies which need to be embraced.” 

Ramakrishna reiterated that South Africa – despite its problems of inequality – was not only included in this revolution but could take advantage of it with positive results. “4IR technology is slowly penetrating a number of domains of human living.

In a way, it’s a great opportunity, a great equaliser but we need to embrace it. If you embrace it, you can go the path of equalising. If not, then the gap is likely to be wider.” 

For Ramakrishna, the “next way” is the circular economy tied to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “That will be the next way. That addresses issues of inequality, resource utilisation and climate change and changes in living conditions. … Embrace the UN SDGs and the circular economy and fourth industrial revolution will fit in with that.

We can only really see 10 to 15 years ahead. We need to contribute to the community and make a difference, get out of our loneliness and be happier.”

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 29): The third ASEAN Insurance Summit, which will be held on November 28 at Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia, here, is expected to attract over 250 participants comprising industry leaders, regulators, stakeholders and industry players in the region.

Organised by the ASEAN Insurance Council (AIC), the summit is supported by the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) and the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) under the guidance of the ASEAN Secretariat.

In a joint statement today, the parties said the summit, themed “The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and its Impact on the ASEAN Insurance Industry”, will explore how innovative approaches and technologies would transform the way insurance business is conducted.


“Given the changing financial landscape due to the revolution, we believe that the summit plays an important role for the ASEAN insurance authorities, regulators, insurers, practitioners and other stakeholders to exchange views on new developments, technologies and innovation as well as their impact on the regional cooperation and integration in the insurance and reinsurance sectors,” they said.

For more information on the ASEAN Insurance Summit, please visit: http://aseaninsurancesummit.com/.

Cape Town - Minister of Higher Education and Training Naledi Pandor said she would soon ask the National Treasury for more funding - and set up a ministerial committee - to ensure South Africa does not lag behind in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) race.

This is in addition to her announcement at a recent BRICS 2018 Future Skills Challenge in Midrand that technical and vocational education and training would get a R2.5billion boost to equip it with 4IR skills.

At the closing ceremony, Pandor said to ensure 4IR success, co-operation among BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - was vital to improve skills, strengthen academic ties and enhance student mobility. Sharing knowledge, research and innovation between academics in BRICS countries could strengthen integration, she said.

“If universities in BRICS collaborate successfully on research and teaching in student and staff exchanges, we can make a significant contribution to global knowledge.

” She said the BRICS Network University was an education project underpinned by the 4IR, which had major implications for business and education.

BRICS Network University is a group of 60 higher education institutions from member countries - 12 from each of the five BRICS countries - established by BRICS education ministers to engage in educational and research initiatives across themes that include: university linkages and higher education mobility; technical and vocational education and training (TVET) exchanges; and sharing of education statistics and learning assessment experiences.

“We’re in the age of the pervasive influence of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence and need responsive skills and a development research focus and investment to benefit fully.

Through its research partnerships, the BRICS Network University can help reduce the poverty, unemployment and inequality that characterise many countries in the developing world,” Pandor said.

It is crucial that South Africa introduce these 4IR skills as two-thirds of the children at primary school are likely to end up working in jobs that are not in existence today.

While she praised universities for developing 4IR skills, Pandor said much still had to be done to equip the country’s technical and vocational education and training colleges with related infrastructure. Ensuring that schools, colleges and universities prepared adequately for the 4IR was a critical requirement, she said.

Pandor said she would appoint a ministerial committee to address 4IR concerns. “Its remit will be to assess what is being done at different universities in the country and then to advise as to what my department should do to put us on a good edge in terms of participation in the digital revolution.

”She added it was high on her agenda to provide the infrastructure to bring colleges up to speed, so they could respond to the demands of new technology and contribute to employment creation and enterprise development in South Africa - but not all of her efforts would require funding, as she sought to draw on the existing experience of institutions in this area.

The minister added the challenges were not insurmountable and she was impressed at the steps being taken to ensure that South Africans were joining the digital innovation race.

“The Gauteng Department of Education’s introduction of technology to all schools has been a really bold step. We should encourage more provinces to do so.

An older initiative in the Western Cape has also had a positive impact. All our universities are doing more, boasting digital facilities in libraries, and wireless is being used widely; certainly, they’re ahead of colleges,” she said.

Commenting on the BRICS 2018 Future Skills Challenge, Pandor said it was a unique initiative, enabling co-operation among the youth, through BRICS, to find solutions to challenges:

“The focus on future skills differentiates this skills challenge from all other existing international skills challenges and competitions”.

This article first appeared on www.universityworldnews.com. 
@WeekendArgus [email protected]

In the next 35 years, the population in cities is estimated to expand by an additional 2.5 billion people, almost double the population of China.

As a vital component for connectivity, public health, social welfare, and economic development, infrastructure in all its forms – basic, social, and economic – is critical for the anticipated urban growth.

As a day to promote the international community’s interest in global urbanisation and contribute to sustainable development around the world, 31 October marks 

World Cities Day 

– where the spotlight on building sustainable cities comes to the fore.“Globally, the annual investment required to cover the gap for resilient infrastructure is estimated at $4.5-$5.4 trillion,” says Riaan Graham, sales director for Ruckus Networks, sub-Saharan Africa.

“And while no two cities are the same, more than than 50% of the global population – live in cities – and instrumental to achieving sustainable smart cities, is harnessing a new world of digital technology and communication to first enable a connected city.”

Building on connectivity

Connectivity is a foundational layer to Smart Cities, both for Internet access and new digital services. A great starting point for cities is to deploy public Wi-Fi. Continues Graham; “Public Wi-Fi is a great way to create a more vibrant community and also connect citizens, businesses and visitors. But the benefits of Wi-Fi don’t stop there.

Cities are leveraging smart Wi-Fi for many applications that go well beyond free public access to the Internet such as e-routing traffic, monitoring air pollution, conserving water, improving public safety and encouraging more direct participation, interaction and collaboration with local government offered services.

”In fact, according to an IDC InfoBrief Smart City aspects such as networked LED street lighting can provide a 25-50% reduction in operations and energy costs, connected trash bins can yield more than 50% reduction in garbage collection costs, 20–30% cost reduction can be obtained with smart parking and smart water systems can save 40% less clean water loss due to leaks and burst pipes. Such aspects are key to building sustainable cities and managing resources and services.

Sustainability lens

Alison Groves, Regional Director, WSP, Building Services, Africa, agrees, but cautions that when planning, designing and building infrastructure within the African context, we need to be conscious that we are operating in spaces that sit at two extreme ends of the development cycle.

“On one end, we have cities and urban centres that are faced with challenges to the maintaining the capacity of existing infrastructure networks. These nodes still boast long-term infrastructure planning, which includes introducing smart technologies into their city scape that will make these cities more connected, innovative and nimble in the face of future disruption.

At the other end of the cycle, however, we have vast areas that are underdeveloped, geographically dispersed, remote, and with limited accessibility to-and-from the nearest urban node.

”Groves believes that to be able to support continued and future growth – of populations, industries and economies – long-term planning must be approached with a vision to compensate for both ends of the development cycle and everything in between.

“As we look to build cities and spaces for rural communities that are liveable, resilient to disruptions, and futureproofed, sustainability is the way to get there.

”“Sustainability is a lens through which the planning, project delivery, and development processes focus to achieve the needs of the communities today without sacrificing capacity for future generations.

A sustainability lens always includes balancing priorities across several areas, including the economy, community needs, and environmental quality, but also equity, health and well-being, energy, water and materials resources, and transportation and mobility needs,” adds Groves.

Resilience and liveability

Urbanisation, demographic shift, environmental changes and new technologies are reshaping the way city leaders are looking at sustainability as well as creating and delivering on public services to address these new dynamics, and the rise of Smart Cities is the response to these challenges.

Smart cities will help address the economic and social inequality that this divide creates, by providing Internet access to all citizens.“With robust networks in place, bridging this divide will help bring communities closer together and encourage citizens to play a more active role to local councils.

Flawless connectivity will improve city infrastructure and make it possible for citizens to engage with their community, such as removing the roadblocks that complicate access to local services.

We are already seeing significant foreign direct investment into such key ICT initiatives across the continent, but sustainability has to be at the heart of this if Africa is to create a resilient framework for better cities,” adds Graham.

“In Africa, resilience and liveability must be the desired outcomes sought through planning and design processes.

Achieving these outcomes will require respecting and balancing local environmental, social, economic, and climate risk priorities through a robust planning and data-driven design process.

And, ultimately the goal should be that we are building liveable spaces that are people-centric, integrated, connected, smart, nimble and resilient – where societies can thrive, well into the future,” concludes Groves.