Kozminski Techblog

Since the beginning of the pandemic, transportation services like Taxis have suffered losses. Uber which is a company specializing in transport is one of them. Over the years the company has had a long-lasting argument with taxi drivers. Because Uber’s service was more optimal for the public, taxi drivers were cast aside. The quarrel between the two was never fully solved but now a collaboration occurred.

55% of Uber drivers stopped providing the transport service in fear of the virus. Because of that, the company was forced to look for a solution that can stabilize its economic situation. The partnership between Uber and Taxi services is tested in New York City. The company mobilized into its ranks 14 thousand taxis, including yellow cabs. This amount is enough to mitigate losses generated because of the pandemic. The deal provides taxi drivers with the opportunity to get an order from an app but does not limit them only to the application usage. It means apart from doing their usual service, if not occupied, they can also optionally drive with uber. However, as cabs are not fully dependent on Uber company, they do not get a default for uber drivers surcharge that soothes the problem of high gas prices.

Uber for a long time has attempted to take out Taxi service. It also has a history of trying to join forces with it. Only now that the pandemic occurred, because of the substantial profit decrease for all transportation services, could both come to an understanding. It is a win-win partnership and it increases the likelihood for people of getting transport throughout NYC. However it may sound, if not for the virus, the services would probably never come to an agreement.

Sources:

https://gizmodo.com/new-york-yellow-cabs-will-finally-run-through-uber-1848699908

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there were not many occasions for schools to conduct stationary lessons. Because of that supervision of the students was impossible. Problems with cheating on exams quickly escalated worldwide. Unfortunately for the schools, the need of solving the problem was not even considered until now, thus not being able to stop it. Two years into the pandemic universities started using a method meant to expose the cheaters.

Schools started generating websites that theoretically contained answers to the exams, which could be browsed for if inserted one of the questions. A student entering the website unknowingly was sharing his IP address and all of the movement on it was monitored. Clicking the “show answer” option would cause an automatic negative grade. A simple yet effective trick that exposes the cheater without harming the rest of the class. Yet such an overt act is an explicit sign of the school not trusting the student.

Since the rigor of the supervision rose, all of the students became uneasy. The constant feeling of being observed is unpleasant and ruins the educational experience. Many people have complained since, that with more counteraction to students cheating, a school has become a place of constant surveillance.

With more secure ways of testing students’ knowledge, came the general stress of being watched. Student which is constantly worried will be less effective and even if not cheating, his grades will drop. Extracting an IP address is a serious violation of a person’s personal space and it astonishes me, that such a solution has even been considered. Schools may be desperate to find a way for cheating to end but it should not be prioritized over students’ comfort.

Sources:

https://gizmodo.com/schools-are-using-fake-answer-sites-to-snitch-on-test-t-1848542874

Chinese School Finds Unique Way to Stop Students From Cheating During Exams

Metaverse is a promising topic of virtual reality. It allows you to connect with avatar, which will mimic your movements, creating illusion of presence in the world. Its potential is very wide, as the world created there can be manipulated however a person desires and is limited only to the person’s understanding of the software. Steps are constantly being made towards creating clearer usage of Metaverse, so that it becomes a regular tool that an average person can use. As of now company is focusing on improvement of the worlds virtual assistant.

Thanks to the virtual assistant presence, a person can shape the world through simple commands that are used daily. Because of that, coding skill is redundant, thus allowing many more people to navigate the system. Simple voice line about a specific topic, will generate an object and tool or grant the desired result in the world. Voice assistant is going to be further improved by remembering commands used in the session. It brings an AI into new level of understanding a context of the conversation. Therefore, communication with the computer is going to be more of a discourse, than asking separately for each expected result.

Another coming up improvement to the system is creating an universal language translator. With the language barrier, the Metaverse could not be used to its fullest by wide range of people across the world. Project that creates real time translation of the speech is going to remove the language barrier. It will enable not only easier usage of the Metaverse software but also communication between people is going to be easier than ever.

If above-mentioned changes would come into life, Metaverse is going to revolutionize social. Multinational business meetings, multiplayer games or spending time with a distant friend will be available no matter the location. With era of virtual reality becoming trend, other meeting services like Microsoft Meetings and Zoom will become redundant. However, for it to happen the system must be yet improved, as for now it is far from success.

Sources:

https://gizmodo.com/meta-wants-to-bring-ai-and-universal-translation-to-the-1848584856

https://www.komputerswiat.pl/aktualnosci/internet/wystartowalo-metaverse-facebooka-uzytkownicy-narzekaja-na-rasizm-i-wulgaryzmy/n9n2mzc

https://www.komputerswiat.pl/artykuly/redakcyjne/metaverse-zuckerberga-spali-na-panewce-tworca-facebooka-musialby-najpierw-pokonac/kzhv3f6

Netflix is a streaming platform, where after purchasing a subscription plan one can access a very wide range of films or series. For some time it has been exceptionally popular and now an average person is known to have a Netflix account. However, people have found way not to pay the full amount of money for the service. Because of that, the company generates lower profit, thus looking for a way to overcome this problem.

Sharing passwords is common across Netflix subscribers. Although this feature is intended for enabling access to the service by members of a household e.g. a family, people share account among their friends. This way, a group of 5 people can get an account for a fifth of the original price and use the service independently.

In this situation, the company must solve the problem of people who take advantage of the system, without creating inconvenience for legitimate users. The recent idea which is now being tested in selected countries is a step in a good way for Netflix. When the system notices activity among multiple devices in different locations, a message is displayed for a user. It encourages to raise subscription fee in case of using the password sharing method. The fee is optional, yet its purpose is to remind that the account is being used incorrectly. Matt Novak, author of the article about the case is calling it the “guilt fee”.

Sometimes, even if people were ready to pay for the service full price, they would have to make a new account and lose all saved film history and preferences. This is why now Netflix also enables to separate accounts and subscription plan into two for a fee.

As good as the solution may sounds, it is only a temporary one and raises the company’s profit moderately. With password sharing trick income is reduced significantly and fewer Netflix productions are released making the service less appealing for all users. Unless the service is going to remodel its subscription plan, it will not hold top streaming service position.

Sources:

https://gizmodo.com/netflix-testing-new-guilt-tax-for-password-sharers-1848665352

PICTURES OF PEOPLE IN THIS BLOG ARE AI GENERATED

Most of the people that have daily access to the internet, also have accounts on social services. Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are platforms, which in short make communication and other interpersonal activities easier and faster. Sometimes profiles which you can find there, are simply fake. There were attempts to create a system that automatically detects and deletes those but often it was not as successful. People though, could find inconsistency and tell apart real and fake ones with ease, thus these profiles were not creating much danger. Recently however, a new type of technology and a threat to social media called a “deepfake” was created. It artificially generates images or videos of people’s faces, based on photos already existing in the database.

Since deepfake became known, there have been created videos of politicians or celebrities in unbelievable situations. These were obviously jokes, and could be seen through if paid enough attention to irregularities in person’s mimics. However, if someone is able to make such an illusion, with an intention of a joke, what would be possible with professional equipment and resources.

Fake accounts are created with different intentions. Many are unharmful like trolling and advertising but there are cases of money extortion. LinkedIn, as an employment oriented platform is especially exposed to this influence. With the problem progressing, service users will gradually become more skeptical to new acquaintances from it. This creates additional barrier between employer and possible employee.

Images of people created using deepfake technology poses extreme potential threat to all of the social media. Jokingly created Obama speech or fabricated Zelensky’s video in which he surrenders, are example of what chaos can be done, if put effort into.

Sources:

https://gizmodo.com/move-over-global-disinformation-campaigns-deepfakes-ha-1848716481

Introduction

Currently, it is estimated that 2,5 quintillion of data is being generated daily. In the last years, people have learned, that taking control of this resource will grant many benefits. Companies have gradually learned to manage this astonishing amount of information more effectively. Although undeniably it is a great technological success, people argued about the ethics of possessing this much power as an independent party. Information about individual people was being manipulated to the point, that data collecting and its distribution had to be regulated by law. Data trusts are meant to solve the problem of uncertainty about how the information is being used. Thanks to them, individuals of the community may gain more charge than simply accept or deny terms of some services.

How does it work

Data trusts is a structure where the task of managing information is appointed to a certain party of fiduciaries. Their highest priority in fulfilling this task is keeping their clients beneficial at all times. Thus it is forbidden for the trustee to have any profit derived from the data he stores. Whether the party doesn’t meet the expectations of a customer, the agreement may be canceled at all times.

What does it cause

Even if placed in a situation where one can control preferences of what data can be collected, it is simply too much of a burden. Accessing those settings is often complicated and one must personalize those every time when arriving at the new website. Data trusts ease that inconvenience by doing it for people, having in mind their best interest.

Possible dangers

Having control over data centralized would seem like a smart idea. One would feel more at ease, in the situation, where information about him is not wildly distributed but carefully managed. However, giving access to all of the collected information to the independent unit or a party may be very dangerous. Ultimately these groups would be in charge of even more data than current services like Facebook or Google. Technically they are to be trusted, although there is the possibility of it being exploited in a harmful way.

Summary

Data trusts are definitely a solution to the case of confidentiality of information. However, in my opinion, the more popular it would get, the more oppressed these institutions would be for the same reason as e.g Facebook is oppressed currently. Same as with politics when control is cumulated in either one hand or a group of representatives it may be used to people disadvantage.

Sources

• https://medium.com/@anoukruhaak/data-trusts-why-what-and-how-a8b53b53d34
• https://theodi.org/article/what-is-a-data-trust/
• https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/11/1006555/eu-data-trust-trusts-project-privacy-policy-opinion/

More shipping companies are currently looking for an option to automate their technology. Demand for goods is constantly rising and with COVID outrbreak, there appeared a danger of having not enough labor. That is why option of self-driving vehicles is very valuable, especially for companies that take care of transport.

What about when this technology will be available

This idea is being developed and tested in the United States. Considering that it is travel related, its routes must be analyzed. That creates a high geographical dependency of release. So one cannot just buy the product and apply it to his supply chains.

How would it work

Companies resigned from the idea of fully automated travel. For that, the algorithm would have to be very complex to create. People would want to find a temporary solution to ever rising demand as quickly as possible. That is why the model has been simplified. The truck is being operated by a human in urban and local space and self-drives on a highway. The truck after being loaded is transported by a human driver to a transfer hub, where the robot takes over and travels the highway to get to another hub. From there until the destination it is driven by a human again.

How is it better

The robot unlike human does not tire which transfers to many benefits. It can work longer and travel 24 hours a day, thus prolonging the covered distance and doubling the delivery capacity. Moreover it is ever vigilant of threats and is more likely to avoid road accidents. The truck also can maintain constant speed which reduces the overall costs of the fuel. Finally it decreases human involvement, which would be essential if there ever occurred a pandemic again.

My opinion

I think that besides creating the product it would also be needed to look into law issues. These trucks would often need to be traveling across states, or in future countries. Many of these do not even have regulated laws concerning automated vehicles. Even if they did, with crossing a border the law would change, thus creating an additional obstacle for creating an algorithm.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are only benefits of this solution, only people did not know they would need this kind of tech right now. The only thing left to introduce this idea to life now is to test it in practice and spread it across the world.

Sources:

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/future-of-mobility/autonomous-trucks-lead-the-way.html/#endnote-1

https://www.beveragedaily.com/Article/2017/12/11/Anheuser-Busch-orders-40-Tesla-electric-self-driving-trucks

What is decarbonization.

Decarbonization is a process of

reduction or elimination of carbon dioxide from energy resources.

Why do we need it.

For the climate to stabilize the world need total decarbonization. Currently, we are on the track of making the global average temperature rise for 2-celsius degrees and above. Considering the melting of the glaciers, the water level of the seas has risen 6 meters since the world was industrialized and the average temperature is 2-celsius degrees higher. If carbon emissions won’t be stopped, average warming will increase to 3-celsius degrees, which will result in flooding many cities, including Miami, Shanghai, Osaka, Rio De Janeiro (the equivalent of 275 million people losing their home).

Ways of decarbonization.

Companies are trying to decarbonize the economy, which results in changes in their business models and many new technologies emerging. Renewable sources of energy are prioritized over fossil fuels. New energy carriers have been created, energy efficiency has been improved, emissions are being reduced.

Companies are taking steps to decarbonize the economy, including increasing electrification, usage of renewable energy, or intensifying energy efficiency measures, which are still a big challenge for the coming years. However, most of the companies declare being fully carbon-neutral by 2050.

Sector overview.

The chemical industry is built on hydrocarbons, however, decarbonizing it would have a profound effect on the world. New technologies make it possible to use CO2 as a feedstock for chemicals and plastics. Moreover, Waste-to-hydrogen plants are being built.

The oil and gas market is currently in crisis, considering low demand caused by the global pandemic and excess supply from the recent oil price war. Decarbonizing may be prioritized by some companies in the short term, though difficult market conditions may encourage companies to experiment with it more and create new business models.

The power, utilities and renewables sector is moving the fastest towards decarbonization as it is a key attribute of customer engagement. They are largely working to expand their renewable energy portfolios. They increase the efficiency of their thermal power plants and improve energy efficiency in buildings.

The mining and metals sector relies mainly upon electrification and renewables. Most of the companies design their decarbonization strategies based on proven solutions and applying them globally to their facilities.

Sources:

• https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/energy-and-resources/articles/us-the-2030-decarbonization-challenge.html
• https://www.virta.global/blog/decarbonization

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Medicine and healthcare has developed greatly in the recent times. It has become inseperable aspect of our lives. In current times it is so advanced that it prolongs lives on earth and enables reaching an average of 72 years of life expectancy. With technology advancement medicine is constantly perfected. Today healthcare can be provided remotly which was called telehealth service.

Using digital information and communication technology devices, we are able to supervise one’s state of health without having to meet in person. The main goals of telehealth are enabling access to healthcare to people in isolated communities, making service more dynamic and time saving, improve coordination between patient and specialists. Many clinics provide service of telecare by managing a patient portal. Thanks to it, you can communicate easily with your doctor or nurse. You can also schedule appointments, show your previous visits results, or even request prescription refills.

Virtual appointments are one of the reasons telehealth exists. It allows a person to attend an appointment with doctor through videoconference. Thanks to that, people may recieve care when regular appointment isn’t required or possible. For example treating a minor illness doesn’t require you to leave your aparment, merely describing your state through a device to a doctor. Moreover your doctor is able to conduct a consultation with a specialist instantly if needed. After loging in to a web-service, you are being asked a series of questions based on which a nurse determines what kind of care should you recieve and if it can be managed virtually or if your state should be furtherly inspected. Despite the fact that the service is convinient it has some disadvantages including not being able of being treated by your doctor, lack of in-person evaluation or the computer driven decision making model may not preprocess correctly your medical history in case it is complex.

In the times of global pandemic telehealth service takes an important part in healthcare. As previously it served only as a way of convenience for patients, now it is crucial and is developed dynamicly. Thanks to remote diagnosis, patients do not risk being infected with SARS-CoV, as they do not leave their house or make any direct contact.

In my opinion telehealth service is not developed enough to replace a regular appointment. However in times of COVID-19, when aspect of remoteness is heavily prioritized in many services, it may come to that telehealth will be sufficient way of healthcare.

Sources:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/telehealth/art-20044878

Reading Time: 3 minutesWHAT IT IS
Created by NVIDIA Research GauGAN project is a program which allows you to turn simple paintings into photorealistic pictures using AI technology.

HOW IT WORKS
GauGAN gives you blank space to draw on, where each brush type is labeled with different type of environment like sand, grass, sky, ocean. Option of changing daytime is also available. Then AI converts the sketch filling into desired elements basing on online pictures database. Using GANs technology program creates credible outcome. In the process two neural networks are used where one is called generator and the latter one discriminator. Generator creates image that later is corrected by discriminator in terms of authenticity.

GANs SYSTEM
Gaugan is using GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks). These are neural networks that cooperate in the process of deep learning, by competing with eachother. E.g one is creating a fake cat picture, while the other one determines whether it is real or fake. This eliminates the need for human to correct the AI and automatizes the process. This way human effort in advancing neural networks is minimized.

USE IN WORLD
In the future the application can help proffesions which require creating world representations like architects, urban planners or game developers. It would allow them to preview the outcome of their work with minimal effort and prevent from committing to bad ideas.

INSIGHTS
Current state of the project may be impressive but its very restrictive. The fact that you are allowed to use only certain labels which resemble specific parts of environment is disappointing and prevents from exploiting maximum potential of creativity. The most obvious way of solving that problem would be adding more labels but connecting elements from various types of environments could corrupt the final landscape. E.g covering a desert with a snow or placing a star on the dirt background would distort the picture, because AI would have no data to refer to. Project’s advancement is dependent purely on describing parts of the world with new algorithms and putting them to the GANs test.

EXAMPLES – Here are some masterpieces I’ve created.

REALISTIC EXAMPLE – easy to make, low chance of corruption

ABSTRACT EXAMPLE – harder to make, high chance of corruption

CORRUPTED EXAMPLE – elements added to habitat in which they not occure will distort the picture. Here is a house in the middle of the ocean with a bridge connected to a pile of mud above.

Here are few breathtaking possible outcomes.

SOURCES

My sketch using NVIDIA’s GauGAN – using machine learning to turn doodles into realistic landscapes from MediaSynthesis

https://www.artstation.com/nicodemus/blog/O8Q4/nvidia-gaugan-fun

https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2017/05/17/generative-adversarial-networks/