Kozminski Techblog

Amc Theaters App now allows its users among conventional methods of cash and card payments now accepts cryptocurrencies in Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. The payment has not brought any further complications for the clients, customers go through the same buying purchase as before. They can then select a form of payment in crypto through the support of a platform Bitpay that stands as an intermediary in the transaction between the user and the cinema.  Some experts call it a “hype” move, with what Tesla did when they tried to sell their cars using Bitcoin, however they have done so after just 49 days, claiming that Bitcoin is energy insufficient and does not correlate with the company’s mission of transitioning the world to a sustainable energy source. AMC has already made a name for it as a company with controversial moves. In the beginning of March the movie theater company acquired a stake in gold mining company “Hycroft Mining Holding”, which also put various experts on their feet, some even claimed that AMC is misusing the shareholder capital, but hey, maybe they have their own secrets, no?

Quite a company as it seems, would you say they have a carefully planned long-term strategy or it is a game to get some public notice and a few headlines? 

References:

https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/15/23027117/amc-doge-coin-shiba-inu-bitpay-movie-theater-tickets

https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/16/22981454/amc-gold-mine-investment-memestock-adam-aron

At a first glance blockchains might seem as a perfect solution in transition from the Fiat currency, creators say that thanks to encryption and carefully validated ledger, each transaction is secure. However, the next case shows that even blockchains can be hacked, you just need to know how. 

Sky Mavis is a Vietnamese-based company, they are the creators of Axie Infinity an NFT game which involves Pokemon-like cards, where players go into teams and combat with their opponents. The characters are so-called “Axies” which can be customly created, sold and traded for fiat and crypto currencies. The popularity of the game is booming; only last August the player count reached 1.8 million users. 

However, on Tuesday March 22nd Sky Mavis revealed that hackers were able to steal 173,600 Ethereum, which is roughly 600 million USD. The attack was focused on Sky Mavis’ blockchain “Ronin” which acts as an intermediary between the Axie Infinity and Marketplaces which allow users to change game currency into real funds. It has been revealed that hackers have utilized private security keys in order to compromise the nodes which are responsible for validating currency transfers, this allowed them to stay hidden and not raise any alarm for the security team, the loss was only discovered when another attempt to steal 5,000 Ethereum was tried to be carried out. Media already calls this event as the largest “decentralized” theft in history as of yet. Sky Mavis now has received 150 million dollars in funding in order to compensate all of the affected players and compensate them for the loss. 

    This case shows flaws and imperfections of the blockchain system, if it is the future of our world, then companies need to stress the importance of security to avoid situations as mentioned above to happen in the future. 

Sources:

• https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/13/22725083/axie-infinity-sky-mavis-blockchain-economy-game-pokemon 
• https://axie.substack.com/p/funding?s=r 
• https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/29/23001620/sky-mavis-axie-infinity-ronin-blockchain-validation-defi-hack-nft 
• https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/13/22725083/axie-infinity-sky-mavis-blockchain-economy-game-pokemon 

Reading Time: 2 minutesHuman error has been a big issue in surgeon rooms worldwide. According to statistics in the USA nearly 4,000 patients are injured annually during the surgeries. From 1990 to 2010 there were 9,744 registered court cases against doctors who have conducted the surgery, the plaintiffs were awarded approximately $1.3 billion in damages over the course of this period [2]. To improve the outcomes of the surgeries we can benefit from the usage of AI systems. On one hand, IT systems can assess the surgical execution in over 85% cases and present a detailed evaluation of skills of a given surgeon that helps humans to understand their weak sides and boost their performance [4]. Robots also help young and inexperienced surgeons to improve their results and enhance their development and self-confidence. On the other hand, AI can completely substitute humans in carrying out surgeries. For instance, surgeons are required to inform each patient personally about a possible recovery chance or predicted risks. Sometimes these calculations go way beyond humans’ calculation abilities, but AI will be able to name all of these figures with very definite accuracy [3]. Furthermore, today’s medicine is highly dependent on the da Vinci System that has been used for over two decades, but there are several modern tools tackling the precise surgery process. While conducting the surgery, suturing is believed to be one of the most important parts that decide the successful completion of surgery [4]. Very often due to human fatigue surgeons are failing to deliver the best outcome possible. However, robots today require humans only to enter the parameters like suture size to complete the surgery. Moreover, AI can self-learn while conducting the work in real-time. Surgical robots are supplied with embedded machine learning algorithms that allow them to spectate at surgeon’s actions during a surgery which allows them to find a better and a more accurate way to perform surgery than a human [1]. Computer systems reduce the bureaucracy burden laid on hospital workers. For instance, analytical tools are used for completing the reports, organize and follow the individual curriculum of each patient allowing doctors and nurses to spend more time with their patients resulting in better treatment. This looks to be a very promising solution to reduce the number of fatal instances during surgery. The AI systems in medicine are predicted to grow annually by 10.4%, from the value of $3.9 billion in 2018 to $6.5 billion by 2023 [4]. Although, surgical robots are still being developed and several flaws are being solved in their operational systems. There is a very high chance that AI and robots will substitute human surgeons in the operating room.

Works Cited

1. Robotic Surgery: The Role of AI and Collaborative Robots. (2019, September 7). Retrieved December 17, 2019, from https://www.robotics.org/blog-article.cfm/Robotic-Surgery-The-Role-of-AI-and-Collaborative-Robots/181.
2. Shocking Surgical Error Statistics Show 4,000 Victims Annually. (2017, February 16). Retrieved December 17, 2019, from https://www.seattlemalpracticelawyers.com/blog/2017/02/shocking-surgical-error-statistics/.
3. Shugalo, I. (2018, September 18). How Can Machine Learning Improve Surgery? Retrieved December 17, 2019, from https://www.technologynetworks.com/informatics/articles/how-can-machine-learning-improve-surgery-309645.
4. Taking Surgery to the Next Level with Machine Learning. (2019, September 15). Retrieved December 17, 2019, from https://www.hackernoon.com/taking-surgery-to-the-next-level-with-machine-learning-qj3fo3zg4.

Reading Time: 3 minutesWith the growing amount of cars on the roads, the probability of a traffic jam increases significantly. In 2015 it was estimated that there are 1.3 billion vehicles on the public roads by 2040 this figure could go over a 2 billion mark [1]. The current traffic management system is simply not suitable for the number of cars we have today. They lack a component that would allow them to adapt to weather conditions, accidents, jams and other situations on the road [1]. Moreover, most of the present traffic lights rely on timers that tell them when to switch the light back to red or green [1]. Although the construction of modern interchanges has had a small impact on the traffic issue we can use new computer systems, AI specifically, to reduce the number of cars being stuck in a “dead” not-moving jam or remove the congestions completely. In order to, reduce the amount of traffic being stuck, we firstly should get to the core of the problem and understand how many cars are out there on each street, motorway, the direction at which they are going and so on [2]. This results in huge amounts of data that should be carefully analyzed, thankfully, the implementation of video cameras and AI systems will allow us to do that.

The Pittsburgh-based “Surtrac” analyzes surrounding at interchanges by using cameras and radars, the data then gets transmitted to the AI system which investigates the information and regulates the traffic lights to ensure the best traffic flow. The company states that they helped people to get to their destinations 25% faster, cutting over 40% of the time spent at intersections, approximately from 30-40% of stops reducing the tyre wear [3]. Moreover, the system decreased the car idling by 20% which lessened the amount of CO2 being exhausted from cars [5]. The cost of implementing a system at a single intersection is valued at $20,000 [3]. The system is realized at 50 intersections and is waiting to be utilized with 150 more on the way [3]. The system has brought several benefits to Pittsburg decreasing not only the number of traffic jams but also contributing to the reduction of greenhouse emissions. The organization currently works to minimize the waiting time for pedestrians too as well as developing a mobile application to communicate with its users. Similar projects have already seen a launch in different countries around the world [3]. For instance, Toyota Mobility Foundation is developing an AI-Powered traffic management system, smart shuttle services, park schemes alongside Bangkok’s officials to solve the traffic flow on Rama IV Road the main expressway in Bangkok [4].

The rapidly growing amount of transport on public roads worldwide requires modern solutions to ensure smooth and uninterrupted traffic flow. Today the outdated traffic systems are not capable of managing the grown amount of traffic. Future IT software is promising to find a solution to this issue. The systems will bring several benefits to the traffic management and assist big cities governments and their citizens to enjoy better traffic flow and decreased amount of pollution which severely harms the quality of air.

Works Cited

1. Baker, F. (2018, December 12). The technology that could end traffic jams. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181212-can-artificial-intelligence-end-traffic-jams.
2. Intelligent Video Traffic Monitoring for Self-Adaptive Traffic Signal Control System. (2019, March 22). Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.advantech.com/resources/case-study/intelligent-video-traffic-monitoring-for-self-adaptive-traffic-signal-control-system.
3.  Snow, J. (2017, July 20). This AI traffic system in Pittsburgh has reduced travel time by 25%. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/this-ai-traffic-system-in-pittsburgh-has-reduced-travel-time-by-25/447494/.
4.  Stone, T. (2019, November 20). Toyota Mobility Foundation supporting project to ease traffic congestion in Bangkok. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.traffictechnologytoday.com/news/congestion-reduction/toyota-mobility-foundation-supporting-project-to-ease-traffic-congestion-in-bangkok.html.
5.  Surtrac Smart Traffic Signals: Adaptive Traffic Control System. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.rapidflowtech.com/.

Reading Time: 3 minutesThe trend of automakers introducing electric vehicles is going viral at the moment. It is believed that car manufacturers are planning to invest approximately up to $90 billion in the development of EVs [6]. The main reasons why people go “electric” is because they think electric cars are 100% environmentally-friendly, cheaper to maintain and refuel. Moreover, many countries are planning to ban the sales and manufacturing of new, gas-powered cars. India plans to ban new conventional cars by 2030, the UK by 2050 and France by 2040 [4]. However, are electric cars are the answer to fighting climate change? Are they 100% “clean” as most of the consumers think? Let’s find out.

Electric vehicles are seen as an eco-friendly solution for fighting global warming. Last year over 3 million electric autos were sold and this is figure predicted to rise in the future [2]. Although, EVs do not generate any pollution while being driven the way they are produced should not be forgotten. The batteries of electric cars are dependent on the following raw-materials: cobalt, lithium, aluminum, manganese and many more [5]. To extract these metals companies are using extensive amounts of clean water, which further promotes harm to the environment [2]. Besides, bringing the harm to the environment the extraction of the mentioned above metals is done in the third-world countries. There were several instances when the extraction included illegal child labor and non-compliance to the work safety regulations when operating with these bio-hazardous metals [2]. Moreover, these resources are scarce as well as oil and no safe way was found in recycling the lithium-ion batteries [3]. A recent investigation in China has shown that an average fossil-powered vehicle would result in 10.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions. On the other hand, single electric vehicle results in the 13 tonnes of CO2 emissions, including battery production [5]. However, of course, if we are talking about the long-term perspective, for example, 150,000 km of mileage electric cars would produce around 20% fewer emissions than the conventional car [5]. Alongside, with the battle between electric cars and conventional ones, there has been a player that hasn’t still received wide recognition, them being hydrogen-powered or fuel-cell vehicles. These cars use hydrogen gas to generate electricity and convert it into movement. These cars are 100% emission-free releasing only pure water from their exhaust pipe [1]. However, as with electric cars, hydrogen-fueled autos cannot find a clean development solution, as today the technology depends on fossil fuels to produce the wanted fuel cell [1].

Summing up, the future of transportation is pretty vague at the moment. Although, to some extent electric cars allow us to reduce the amount of CO2 produced it does not resolve the problem completely. As of today, we cannot find a 100% pure-clean way to the CO2 issue. Currently, it can be said that the best way to reduce the number of greenhouse gases escaping to the atmosphere is by taking public transport or car-sharing [7]. Although sometimes these ways of transportation do not seem like the best options to take, I strongly believe that technology will help us to discover a fully eco-friendly way of commuting in the near upcoming future.

Work Cited

1. Baxter, E. (2011, April 25). 10 Possible Transportation Pollution Solutions. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/10-transportation-pollution-solutions1.htm.
2. Broom, D. (2019, March 27). The dirty secret of electric vehicles. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/the-dirty-secret-of-electric-vehicles/.
3. Brueckner, M. (2018, April 17). Not so fast: why the electric vehicle revolution will bring problems of its own. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://theconversation.com/not-so-fast-why-the-electric-vehicle-revolution-will-bring-problems-of-its-own-94980.
4. Coren, M. J. (2018, August 7). Nine countries say they’ll ban internal combustion engines. So far, it’s just words. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://qz.com/1341155/nine-countries-say-they-will-ban-internal-combustion-engines-none-have-a-law-to-do-so/.
5. Hasan, A., & Chapman, R. B. (2019, October 15). Climate explained: the environmental footprint of electric versus fossil cars. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://theconversation.com/climate-explained-the-environmental-footprint-of-electric-versus-fossil-cars-124762.
6. Lienert, P. (2018, January 15). Global carmakers to invest at least $90 billion in electric vehicles. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-detroit-electric/global-carmakers-to-invest-at-least-90-billion-in-electric-vehicles-idUSKBN1F42NW.
7. Transport emissions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport_en.

Reading Time: 4 minutes 

Internet of Things (IoT) has completely changed the way of conducting business. IoT help benefit businesses in many ways: it improves efficiency, provides real-time data about current supply levels, reduces costs and helps to identify new market opportunities for firm’s growth [1]. The development of IoT did not stop there and today we can see that it is being implemented into our daily lives. New products like:  smart energy consumption monitors, smart speakers, smart vents, sport tracking systems that give you regular updates about your health status and many more are being introduced and they are meant to make our lives more comfortable and less-stressed [4]. It is predicted that the usage of IoT will increase by three times from 2018 to 2023 and result in creation of 43 billion new devices being implemented [2]. This article will mainly focus on the Smart Home systems their benefits and downsides to their users.

Smart Homes are not a thing of past anymore, in the US these software have already attracted 134 million users which is a 34% increase over a previous year [10]. Moreover, the worldwide market for smart home systems is projected to reach a mark of $53 billion in value by 2022 [9]. Smart Home is referred to the collection of Information Systems at your house, they include smart thermostats, locks, plugs, doorbells, lights and etc [5]. Moreover, a future user can customize his house by selecting only the necessary systems at his house without overpaying [5]. These tools are able to monitor person’s presence in a certain part of the house, therefore, they can manage the work of lights or heating more effectively it is estimated that the systems reduce the cost of the utilities charges by 16% on the heating bills [3]. The system will always keep you up to date about its condition and will notify if any repair or maintenance is required. Surveillance cameras are also considered to be  “smart” implementations, by installing them you will get a picture of what is happening outside of your house as well as inside increasing your protection and awareness of the surroundings [8]. Many experts believe that these “techy” upgrades will increase the value of your home as a whole if you will consider to sell it in the future [5]. Although, these advanced home systems bring several improvements like flexibility and other fringe benefits there are also downsides of using them.

To begin with, the tech-driven systems are harder to install and they are more expensive over the regular devices [5]. Secondly, the Smart hardware is reliant on a stable internet connection, if  you will experience a power cut most of the systems will be uncontrollable and you will not be able to use them until the devices are back online [5]. Moreover, the maintenance of these high-end systems require highly-skilled professionals who will be able to diagnose the issue correctly and immediately [5]. Although, technology can improve some areas of your security, a lot of users in the USA were complaining about their devices being hacked. The home systems like Google Home or Amazon Alexa have already been sued for leaking private conversations of their owners, so privacy is also under a risk of suffering after the installation of the Smart Home appliances [11]. Lastly, as the providers remove some of the flaws of their systems with every new update, users must take action as well. For instance, customers should keep their devices up-to-date by downloading every new version that the developer releases, create strong and change their passwords frequently [7].

Internet of Things provided several benefits in the business world and allowed organization to interconnect with each other and improve their efficiency. In today’s reality IoT is becoming an essential part in person’s daily activities. Smart Homes is a great example of how technology impacts our personal lives. Smart Home systems became popular not a long time ago. With their rapid usage growth they have both advantages and disadvantages. They assist their users in managing house-activities, saving funds on the utility bills and provide greater flexibility. However, the software are also highly-reliant on internet connection, has a high cost and is vulnerable to hacking. Although, companies are constantly improving the security of their products, customers should also take steps to prevent virtual intrusions by creating strong passwords and keeping the software updated [6]. In the end, Smart Home systems are a great long-term perspective in saving money on utility bills and increasing the value of your house.

Works Cited

1. Baby, S. (n.d.). 6 Ways Businesses Can Take Advantage of IoT. Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://vmokshagroup.com/blog/6-ways-businesses-can-take-advantage-of-iot/.
2. Dahlqvist, F., Patel, M., Rajko, A., & Shulman, J. (2019, July). Growing opportunities in the Internet of Things. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-equity-and-principal-investors/our-insights/growing-opportunities-in-the-internet-of-things.
3. Doyle, B. (2019, May 30). The Ultimate Smart Home: 5 Devices That Save Money. Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://magazine.realtor/technology/feature/article/2019/05/the-ultimate-smart-home-5-devices-that-save-money.
4. Harvey , C. (2016, July 25). 75 Top IoT Devices. Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://www.datamation.com/mobile-wireless/75-top-iot-devices-1.html.
5. How Do Smart Homes Work?Advantages and Disadvantages of Smart Homes. (2018, November 14). Retrieved November 7, 2019, from  https://pvsbuilders.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-smart-homes/.
6. Hu, J. C. (2018, December 18). How one lightbulb could allow hackers to burgle your home. Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://qz.com/1493748/how-one-lightbulb-could-allow-hackers-to-burgle-your-home/.
7. Kari, P. (2018, July 7). 7 ways to keep your smart home from being hacked. Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://www.marketwatch.com/story/7-ways-to-keep-your-smart-home-from-being-hacked-2016-10-17.
8. SafeWise Team. (2018, October 12). What are the benefits of home automation? Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://www.safewise.com/faq/home-automation/home-automation-benefits/.
9. Shanhong Liu, S. (2019, August 9). Global smart home market size 2016-2022. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/682204/global-smart-home-market-size/.
10. Smart Home – worldwide: Statista Market Forecast. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/outlook/279/100/smart-home/worldwide#market-marketDriver.
11. Your smart home devices are easy to hack – here’s how to stay secure. (2019, September 17). Retrieved November 7, 2019, from https://7news.com.au/the-daily-edition/smart-home-security-the-devices-that-are-vulnerable-to-hacking-and-how-to-stay-secure-c-457339.

Reading Time: 3 minutesFood waste became a massive ethical and ecological issue worldwide. While some developing countries are fighting with malnutrition and hunger, developed nations are wasting an enormous amount of meals. It is estimated that approximately 1.3 billion tons of food is ending up unused annually [2]. For instance, 800 million people are starving worldwide [5]. Correct use of food resources could keep every person in the world well-fed [5]. Moreover, food waste also brings severe damage to the country’s resources it is believed that food waste accounts for USD 2.6 trillion yearly [2]. Among the financial loses food waste is a massive producer of greenhouse gases tracing only China and the USA in CO2 emissions [6]. Misuse of nutrition products became a huge problem with globalization when international trade developed and nations started sending more and more foods to each other [2]. The main reasons for food waste are: over plantation by producers, poor transportation, worn-out equipment in developing nations and many others [2]. However, technology, specifically Artificial Intelligence might help the world to improve food management to reduce the number of foods lost.

A start-up company from the United Kingdom named Winnow came up with an AI-powered waste bin that uses smart scales at the bottom and a touchscreen installed above it where you choose which products you have thrown-out [4]. The system is being used by some restaurants, which believe that they will be able to calculate the approximate amount of food they need in their operations, thus, improving food-management and significantly reducing storage costs. A total of 75 devices have already managed to cut 39,000 tonnes of greenhouses and save 30 million dollars to its users [1]. Ikea is one of the early adopters of this technology and the company is seeking to reduce its food losses by 50% [4]. Moreover, Artificial Intelligence was also introduced as an assistant in harvesting and growing crops. Several software systems like remote sensors, satellites, drones, etc. Provide farmers with valuable information about their harvest, for example, when the product is ready to be collected, real-time weather information, amount of fertilizers needed, etc [3]. All of this new software will allow farmers to experience fewer crop-losses and provide their customers with better quality products. Computer assistance can result in up to $127 billion in revenues by 2030 [3].

Food waste became a global problem in the past decades. With constantly rising population worldwide it is predicted that insufficient food use can rise by 60-70% by 2050 [7]. However, with the development of new computer systems and Artificial Intelligence, we will be able to reduce food waste by carefully analyzing how much food is needed and how to grow it more effectively, as well as, minimizing the possibility of poor harvests seasons. Moreover, the new systems will also help in cutting the amount of CO2 greenhouse gases being escaped to the atmosphere. Reduction of costs and expenses that arose from food waste will allow countries to allocate their resources more efficiently and spend more of their budgets towards the nation’s growth and development in the future.

Works Cited

1. Chapman, B. (2019, March 22). ‘World’s first’ AI bin launched to tackle food waste by restaurants. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ai-bin-launched-food-waste-restaurants-winnow-vision-a8835736.html.

2. Depta, L. (2018, September). Global Food Waste and its Environmental Impact: Green Living. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://en.reset.org/knowledge/global-food-waste-and-its-environmental-impact-09122018.

3. Magnin, C. (2019, March 27). How AI can unlock a $127B opportunity by reducing food waste. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/sustainability-blog/how-ai-can-unlock-a-127b-opportunity-by-reducing-food-waste.

4. Sawers, P. (2019, March 21). Winnow uses computer vision to help commercial kitchens cut food waste. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://venturebeat.com/2019/03/21/winnow-uses-computer-vision-to-help-commercial-kitchens-cut-food-waste/.

5. The problem of food waste. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://olioex.com/food-waste/the-problem-of-food-waste/.

6. Waqavonovnono. (2019, September 19). Why is Food Waste a Global Issue? food wastes environmental impact. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from  https://www.trvst.world/inspiration/why-is-food-waste-a-global-issue/.

7. 10 food waste facts you need to know. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://olioex.com/food-waste/food-waste-facts/.