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1 February 2022
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The Dark web – Will it get any brighter?

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A timeline

First of all, what is known as the dark web?

“The dark web is the hidden collective of internet sites only accessible by a specialized web browser. It is used for keeping internet activity anonymous and private, which can be helpful in both legal and illegal applications.” (Kaspersky.com)

The first concept started in the 1960s with the conception of what was known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). The main idea of this invention was the ability to share information on a long-distance without any connection to the internet. The 1960s also being the period of great tension amongst countries, ARPANET became a tool to share intel during the cold war. 

Only a decade after the first illegal transaction was made at Stanford University. Allegedly, students would’ve used ARPANET accounts to pay for marijuana with MIT students. This was part of the many experiences that researchers led. Of course, having such potential, the government wanted to be a part of it, which led founders to divide ARPANET into two parts: MILNET and the civilian version of ARPANET. MILNET was the governmental-owned part, which was used for military and secret agencies, while ARPANET was what will later become the internet.

The true beginning started in the 1990s when the onion router (Tor), a private Internet browsing network would connect dark websites. Initially, Tor didn’t take off right away, it had to wait an extra 10 years. In 2002, people looking for free speech and a way to escape oppressive governments would start using Tor. Unfortunately, Tor wasn’t easily accessible and was therefore mostly used by the tech-savvies. 

In 2008, the design was remodeled, and its popularity raised, making access easier to anyone who would want to get involved. The major turning point was in 2009 with the arrival of Bitcoin. The first cryptocurrency would allow making transactions possible while being anonymous. At this point, the dark web was discovered its true underground market potential.

What about today? 

According to CSO, the dark web is said to account for less than 5% of the internet, knowing that the surface web (visible and clear part) accounts for between 1 to 4%. Furthermore, according to ID Agent, “over 133,00 C-level Fortune 1000 executives had their credentials available and accessible on the dark web.”. Finally, probably the most traumatizing fact is that 80% of the traffic is linked to “illegal porn, abuse images and/or child sex abuse material” (theconversation.com)

The dark web will probably remain a place for deviant people to retrieve and share information or illicit items. There is no getting “brighter”, and it will probably remain the same if not worst. Yet with major involvement in cybersecurity, one can hope that the dark web will undergo some regulation.

How to stop the Dark Web?

Unfortunately, dismantling Tor wouldn’t help anything, as it is not the only dark web browser. Firefox and Opera can also be used to access its database.

Since accessibility can’t be stopped, one of the solutions is to prevent data from being leaked. On the big company scale, this means investing in cybersecurity experts, but on the individual level, it is as easy as turning off the light when leaving a room. What I mean is that you have to activate two-step authentication when it is possible, beware of phishing messages and use a different robust password for each of your accounts.

Now in terms of solutions to regulate the flow of illegal information such as child pornography, there isn’t much an individual can do. Unless you are a cybersecurity expert and manage to breach someone’s ID through a VPN ( which is close to impossible), government spending in cybersecurity is the only solution today.

Sources used: 

–      https://www.soscanhelp.com/blog/history-of-the-dark-web#:~:text=ARPANET%2C%20also%20known%20as%20the,later%20on%2C%20the%20dark%20web.&text=This%20can%20be%20seen%20in,ARPANET%20in%20the%20early%201970’s.

–      https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/deep-web

–      https://techjury.net/blog/how-much-of-the-internet-is-the-dark-web/#:~:text=Dark%20web%20statistics%20in%202021,than%205%25%20of%20the%20internet.&text=Besides%2C%20the%20dark%20web%20is,for%201%20to%204%20percent. 

–      https://theconversation.com/how-the-worlds-biggest-dark-web-platform-spreads-millions-of-items-of-child-sex-abuse-material-and-why-its-hard-to-stop-167107 

–      https://www.cashify.in/top-5-dark-web-browser-for-anonymous-browsing 

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31 January 2022
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The Quantum Computer – Will it still break the internet?

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Ever since quantum computing has been theorized, many questions have been asked among scientists on what it could potentially do. With the high development speed of new technologies, will it still have a significant impact today and on future generations?

The origin up to today

Back in the 1980s, Yuri Manin and Richard Feynman came up with the idea that such a computer was scientifically possible to build. If you are unfamiliar with quantum physics, I recommend you look up “Schrodinger’s cat”. 

The reason there are so few quantum computers available today (in 2018, there were only 11 of them) is mainly linked to the fact that high computational resources are required. In quantum computers, one of the requirements is to reach the phenomenon of “superposition”. Essentially, this means that the computer must be able to “superpose” all the different available paths. Equivalently, a traditional computer will use bits, also known as “binary digits”, whereas quantum computers will use qubits or quantum bits that allow the phenomenon of superposition.

Another reason why quantum computers are incredibly rare is also since they can become dangerous in the wrong hands. As for today, it is extremely hard to purchase one of these technologies, as it will cost you a few million dollars. Even if you were able to purchase one, there is such a scarce amount of them in circulation, that it is easy for the government to regulate the use.

With the arrival of quantum machine learning, it is easier to have access to quantum computers. The first solution is to use the cloud. 

Big companies such as IBM give access to quantum computers through the cloud, the problem is that there is a limited number of slots available. On the other hand, Google gives you access but you need to be on the approved list to be able to use it. Finally, Amazon provides quantum computers, but the issue is that you must pay for every execution you do, making it very expensive to use.

Other solutions are cloud simulators and local simulators. They do not give you the same processing power as that usual quantum computer, but they can help you work with it and see the potential of machine learning.

If it happens that you are interested in the subject, I suggest that you watched the video with the link below:

The uses of quantum computers

As mentioned above quantum computers can be used for artificial intelligence and machine learning. With the recent rise of deep learning, quantum computers are very useful for this industry, as high processing power is needed. 

This technology could also be used in computational chemistry. Its capacity of superposition makes it easy to map molecules and therefore build new drugs. In other words, quantum computers can also the healthcare industry. 

It is clear that for any analytical subjects these computers have incredible potential. If you take the example of financial modeling, you could be able to understand many different trends on wall streets making it also a very profitable technology. Yet, there is one industry that scares many researchers: cyber security and cryptography. 

You may or may not know that to hack someone’s accounts the most known technique is to use a library of names with different combinations of numbers and characters. Then you let the program run until it finds the right password. Now imagine that with the same program you would use one of the quantum computers, breaking passwords would become extremely easy, making it an incredibly dangerous weapon.

To protect users from such threats engineers are using quantum machine learning in cybersecurity to protect any potential attack on a user with such a technology.

Time is running out

One of the main factors of accessibility of this technology is obviously the price. Yet recently a startup based in Shenzhen, SpinQ has proved that they could make computers that would cost less than $5000. If these sorts of start-ups start multiplying and becoming more popular, soon we’ll all be able to have a quantum computer, which would completely change the industry of computer science. 

Every company would have to work on their cyber security as they would be vulnerable. To prevent that, it is important to create restrictions institutions that leave time to programmers and computer engineers to limits the drawbacks of quantum computers. Of course, SpinQ’s technology is nowhere as close as one of the 11 quantum computers that exist today.

But as the co-founder of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, Michele Mosca said: 

“Cryptography is a foundational piece in today’s digital infrastructures and security. Not all cryptography will be vulnerable to quantum computing, but many current forms will. Public key encryption could be decimated by it. Past communications, for example, such as those via video calls or through VPNs that have been recorded and stored could be hacked into through quantum. That ship has sailed.”

Now is the time to act

if we don’t want the next generation or even the present generation to be harmed by the dangers of quantum computing, institutions must be put into place today. I believe that it is important to teach the younger generations and the older about the potential threats of quantum computing.

If quantum computing is taught at school at the youngest age, consequently the probability that students would be interested in this in this industry should potentially be higher. It is important to train as many Cybersecurity talents as possible today, in order to fight against cybercrimes and potential cyber wars.

Sources used:

–      https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/quantum/concepts-overview#:~:text=Quantum%20computers%20were%20proposed%20in,to%20model%20even%20simple%20systems

–      https://www.britannica.com/technology/quantum-computer 

–      https://www.quora.com/How-many-quantum-computers-exist-as-of-2018 

–      https://towardsdatascience.com/what-if-i-cant-afford-a-quantum-computer-51ce96cd7b9c#:~:text=So%2C%20even%20they%20do%20exist,learning%20today%20rather%20than%20tomorrow.

–      https://analyticsindiamag.com/top-applications-of-quantum-computing-everyone-should-know-about/

–      https://futurism.com/the-byte/quantum-desktop-computer-5000 

–      https://home.kpmg/uk/en/blogs/home/posts/2021/10/calculating-the-quantum-computing-threats-and-opportunities-in-tmt.html#:~:text=The%20quantum%20cyber%20threat&text=Not%20all%20cryptography%20will%20be,be%20hacked%20into%20through%20quantum. 

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31 January 2022
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NFTs – What are the market prospects? Should you invest in them?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

When did NFTs start?

As a reminder, NFTs or Non-fungible tokens, or at least the meaning of “non-fungible” means: 

“That it’s unique and can’t be replaced with something else. For example, a bitcoin is fungible — trade one for another bitcoin, and you’ll have the same thing. A one-of-a-kind trading card, however, is non-fungible. If you traded it for a different card, you’d have something completely different.”

“NFTs can really be anything digital (such as drawings, music, your brain downloaded and turned into an AI), but a lot of the current excitement is around using the tech to sell digital art.”

(theverge.com)

Now that we have an understanding of what NFTs are, we can start focusing on the origin of this technology. On the 7th of August 2015, the first NFT was born. Its name was “Terra Nullius”, and it was part of the Ethereum blockchain. It turns out that the NFT had one particularity, it made users able to “claim a stake”. Essentially this means that you were able to insert a short message to personalize the NFT.

Then, a few months later, Etheria v1.1 also named Blockplots was created. Other than being one of the first NFTs to be introduced to the world, Etheria had a specific trait, the buyers were able to buy “tiles” from a 457-piece map. This concept please many NFT creators, and similar concepts were created.

One of them was named “PixelMap”, created at the end of 2016, it allowed users to purchase one or more images from a blockchain with 3,970 pieces available. PixelMap was some sort of combination of Etheria and Terra Nullius, as it not only had a limited number of buys but was also individually customizable. 

The idea of owning individual digital pieces was approved by other creators and therefore decided to diversify the asset. In 2017, Ethereum Name Service was invented, and granted the possibility to users to purchase one of their decentralized domain names. As time went by, you were able to own collectible cards thanks to Curio Cards, or even one of 400 plots on the moon with Lunar Token.

All in all, NFTs have existed since 2015 and have diversified in terms of the content of the purchased asset. Thanks to the graph below, you can visualize that NFTs have just recently become a trend.

Yet as you know now, NFTs have been around for 7 years now, so why is it now so popular?

NFT and its on-growing popularity.

As no media seem to understand the proper reason for its popularity, economic and technological factors, that made sense for NFTs to have such a prosperous run. NFTs’ ability to be purchased by cryptocurrencies is therefore greatly interlinked with Bitcoin’s recent bull run. As you may or may not know, at the end of 2020, reached a record-breaking all-time high of $68,0000. One can think that bitcoins’ popularity has therefore led to crypto-purchasable assets such as NFTs. 

One of the historically notorious NFTs back in late 2017 was CryptoKitties. It turns out that they made a comeback today with the “NBA Top Shot”. The American basketball league and CryptoKitties created NFTs of the best moments of the season. As a result, the duo became the number one source of volume on the NFT market. NBA being having such popularity; one can imagine that the cooperation became a catalyzer for the technology.

Finally, the pandemic has had a major influence on the international market, particularly on the collectibles market. The collectibles market value grew to $522b (irei.com, 2021), explaining one of the reasons why NFTs became so popular.

The different sorts of NFTs

To understand if NFTs are investable today, it is important to understand the different types that exist today.

Today the main types of NFTS on the market are: 

– Music: Allowing musicians to create a smaller audience of their biggest fans.

– Art: This allows digital art lovers to have their unique pieces.

– Access: Tickets that allow you to have access to digital content.

– Redeemable: A token that authorizes you to claim a physical good.

– Game objects: Think of skins for example (the color of your character in a video game), when purchased by the player, the company still has ownership. With NFTs, the player would have full ownership of the object and be able to benefit from its interoperability. 

– Identity: Users will have the possibility to benefit from NFTs interoperability and the blockchain’s secured system.

– Web 2.0 Databases: Keeping personal or even professional information decentralized will benefit the user in the way that they will be able to secure them, but also transfer their data to a decentralized system to a centralized one.

Should you invest in NFTs today?

It depends on the sort of investor that you are. If you are a risk-taking capitalist, in that case, trending cryptos such as the BAYC (Bored Ape Yacht Club) NFTs. This company has created many digital arts selling for millions of dollars. One of them, the “Bored Ape #3749”, sold for 740 ETH, the equivalent of around $2.9 million. Many celebrities are contentiously investing in them today, making the prices reach extremely high summits. If you are a specialist in the Art market, in that case, Art NFTs might be for you.

Of course, if you are purchasing the NFTs to support creators, or just because you want to have your “hands” on one, then sure, go for it!

On the other hand, the more “practicable” aspect of NFTs can become a great way to protect your data but also interoperate your credentials to different devices. This feature is becoming an interest for more and more companies, thus you might want to hold on to your wallet, as future competition in the industry will probably rise the buyers’ bargaining power.

Sources used:

–      https://bernardmarr.com/the-10-best-examples-of-nfts/#:~:text=2%20January%202022,lining%20up%20to%20buy%20them

–      https://www.theverge.com/22310188/nft-explainer-what-is-blockchain-crypto-art-faq 

–      https://www.one37pm.com/nft/tech/the-definitive-timeline-of-early-nfts-on-ethereum#:~:text=1.,’claim’%20on%20the%20blockchain

–      https://nftevening.com/terra-nullius-nft-project-is-the-newest-oldest-nft-in-existence/ 

–      https://medium.com/momentum6/nfts-have-a-future-beyond-investment-the-seven-types-of-nfts-you-can-get-today-674195d78087

–      https://influencermarketinghub.com/nfts-statistics/  

–      https://medium.com/geekculture/how-did-nfts-become-so-popular-f894eea22f90 

–      https://time.com/nextadvisor/investing/cryptocurrency/bitcoin-record-high-price/ 

–      https://irei.com/news/collectibles-market-value-grow-522b/ 

–      https://www.nftsstreet.com/top-10-most-expensive-bored-ape-yacht-club-nfts/ 

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31 January 2022
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VR for mental health – How beneficial is it? Should you use it today?

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A brief story about VR

To understand when VR started, it is important to define the term. VR or Virtual Reality is:

“The use of computer technology to create a simulated environment. Unlike traditional user interfaces, VR places the user inside an experience. Instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users are immersed and able to interact with 3D worlds. By simulating as many senses as possible, such as vision, hearing, touch, even smell, the computer is transformed into a gatekeeper to this artificial world. The only limits to near-real VR experiences are the availability of content and cheap computing power.” (marxentlabs.com)

Some argue that the idea of virtual reality was born in the 19th century with panoramic paintings, such as the battle of Racławice exposed in Wrocław since 1947, which aimed to immerse the spectator in the setting. Yet, the true VR concept was born in the 1930s thanks to the writer Stanley G. Weinbaum in Pygmalion’s Spectacles. In his science fiction novel, he mentions the use of glasses that would make the wearer perceive a fictional world (with sight but also smell, taste, and touch).

VR as we know it will have to wait for the 1960s and the help of Ivan Sutherland, an American IT engineer. Sutherland will create what he calls the “Ultimate Display”, which according to him, is as follows:

“The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal. With appropriate programming, such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked.” 

Ivan Sutherland will become one of the VR pioneers in history, and thanks to his game “Sword of Damocles”, the world will consider his work as the archetype of modern VR.

The name VR will have to wait until 1987, when the founder of the virtual programming lab (VPL), came up with the term “Virtual Reality”.

25 years later, co-founder of the “Oculus rift” Palmer Lucky would take the contraption to a whole new level. His invention had so much potential that Facebook would eventually purchase the Oculus, 2 years later. Google would try to retaliate by making VR accessible to all thanks to its “Google Cardboard”. Unfortunately for them, this will only become a fad and would never reach the same success as the Oculus.

VR and Therapy

Even though the origins of VR were mostly focused on science fiction and video games, the technology had a serious impact on the medical industry. The first treatments ever began in the 1990s with the help of computer scientist Larry Hodges and psychologist Barbara Rothbaum. It turned out that the result of their research proved to be beneficial in treating phobias, especially: acrophobia (the fear of heights). With such a breakthrough in psychological science, Albert Carlin and Hunter Hoffman, both psychologists, theorized VR as being a potential cure against arachnophobia (the fear of spiders).

Studies have continuously been made in the field of VR healthcare, and many conclusions have been made that the technology could be used for PTSD, anxiety-related disorders, and phobias in general. Emmy-nominated journalist, Hannah Kuchler says: “People on opiates could be given a VR tour of what their body would look like after years of addiction”, suggesting that VR could play a major role against addictive disorders.

According to statista.com: “As of 2018, the North American healthcare AR and VR industry was valued at 477 million U.S. dollars. By 2025, that is expected to increase dramatically to 4.64 billion U.S. dollars.” The business perspective for such technology is underlyingly huge. With all the studies, all the positive feedback from the doctors and the patients, what could be the challenges for the technology?

Challenges to VR

With respect to Dr. Kalpana Srivastava, side effects to VR are: “dizziness, nausea, headache, eye strain, reduced limb control, reduced postural control, decreased sense of presence, and the development of responses inappropriate to the real world”. In other words, to be optimal and ready to be used efficiently, engineers still need to find a way to better VR.

With the exponential growth of VR in healthcare, one can hope that companies will make the technology side-effectless and hopefully financially accessible to most people.

Should you use VR?

VR has proved through history to be beneficial for mental health, there is even a word for it: VR exposure therapy (VRET). Its scalability is incontestable, and anxiety disorders being the most common of mental disorders “affecting nearly 18.1% of adults” (frontiersin.org, 2019), the potential is more than just promising.

In my humble opinion, if I had to recommend VR for health issues, I would definitely do so. For the skeptics, alternatives still exist today such as traditional therapy, or on the more unconventional spectrum, hypnosis. Yet, with all the studies and practices that have been done, it is clear that if you suffer from mental health disorders, VR is a solution today.

Sources used:

History Of Virtual Reality
What is Virtual Reality? [Definition and Examples]

https://careersinpsychology.org/why-virtual-reality-transform-mental-health-treatment/#:~:text=Therapists%20began%20to%20use%20virtual,therapy%20in%20mental%20health%20treatment

https://www.ft.com/content/1a9a4cac-83cb-11e8-96dd-fa565ec55929

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1033162/healthcare-ar-and-vr-market-forecast-worldwide-by-region/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4361984/

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00773/full#:~:text=Incorporating%20VR%20in%20therapy%20can,in%20vivo%20or%20imaginal%20exposure.

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30 January 2022
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Xenobots, a revolution in robot life – What are they? Should their legality be internationally considered?

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Earlier, in December 2021, the world was introduced to the Xenobots 3.0. To fully understand what Xenobots are, it is important to travel back in time to 2020, when this technology was still a theory.

The Birth of Xenobots

In 2020, the Xenobots were designed by biologists at Tufts University in Massachusetts and were then created the same year. Xenobots is the name that was given to them, as their design was inspired by the African clawed frog: “Xenopus laevis”. The main goal at the time was to reproduce the lifeforms through synthetic molecules. Since then, one question remains among the scientific community: should Xenobots be recognized as an organism? A robot? Or something totally new that doesn’t exist yet?

The story about their conception is worth reading, as the blueprints were designed by AI. Douglas Blackiston and Sam Kriegman were the key players concerning its development. Kriegman was responsible for the AI blueprint generator, while Blackiston was responsible for assembling the pieces together.

It is important to note that these “bots” aren’t as big as you could imagine. Their size is less than 1 millimeter wide, making them invisible to the human eye. The recipe for such a technology is made from two ingredients: skin cells and heart muscle cells. The skin cells are in charge of holding up the whole structure, and the heart muscle cells are accountable for their “life”. Ultimately, Tufts University biologists have designed the original Xenobots to be able to move and cooperate. 

In spring 2021, Xenobots 2.0 were introduced to the world. The technology had received major upgrades. First, they have the capacity to self-assemble independently from muscle cells. Furthermore, the second version proved to have the potential of what is known as “recordable memory”. Memory recordings are defined as: “a permanent record of your thoughts, feelings, and memories” (lifenaut.com). Essentially, this means that reinforcement learning would be possible, as they would recall their past experiences.

In December 2021, Xenobots experienced a breakthrough with the emergence of their newest version: Xenobots 3.0. The technology was now able to self-replicate. The goal of working together to survive was now reached, as the synthetic molecules are also able to work together to heal themselves once damaged. This last upgrade raised many topic discussions as to how this could come into play to benefit the world.

Revolutionary Potential

Josh Bongard, computer scientist, and robotic expert believes that the Xenobots need to be given tasks that are more useful. He says: “We want Xenobots to do useful work. Right now, we’re giving them simple tasks, but ultimately, we’re aiming for a new kind of living tool that could, for example, clean up microplastics in the ocean or contaminants in soil”.  

As one of the masterminds behind this work has said himself, Xenobots could come into play against the environmental crisis. Imagine for instance, if a version of the technology was able to absorb the CO2 particles? If it could reinforce and help strengthen the ozone layer? Or maybe it could clean polluted waters by disintegrating waste in the water. This could be one of the solutions, plus we wouldn’t even need to worry about Xenobots polluting water because as Douglas Blackinston specifies: “the Xenobots eventually break apart and are totally biodegradable”.

Another promising potential that Xenobots have, is within the healthcare sector. Many scientists hope that the technology will be used for biomedical needs. Josh Bongard believes that their swarm intelligence capacity will play a major role in this industry. According to sciencedirect.com, “Swarm intelligence (SI) is in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and is based on the collective behavior of elements in decentralized and self-organized systems”. This technology means that in medical fields such as vaccinations, Xenobots could be inserted within the human body to counter diseases. Think about Covid-19 today, you could potentially cure the disease with a “bot” that would learn to adapt and fight against it. This “bot” could therefore be injected inside the human body and become a solution to the pandemic.

With so much potential, so much to offer, one can only ask, what could possibly go wrong?

Lethal Drawbacks

Here is an extract from the United Nations’ Biological Weapons Convention and the 1925 Geneva Protocol and Chemical Weapons Convention: “Any hostile use of Xenobots, or the use of AI to design DNA sequences that would give rise to deliberately dangerous synthetic organisms, is banned”. With the rise of such a technology, the United Nations have already taken a position against its potentially destructive side.

Xenobots, as well as they can be used for good, can also be used for immoral practices. If we take the example of an individual who wants to cause mass destruction, he could use Xenobots and make them a lethal weapon for the human species. Let’s say he taught the synthetic molecule to fight against the humans’ immune system and create a disease that can spread easily and kill you in a matter of seconds. This could potentially be a scenario where humans could go extinct.

However, according to Kriegman, his invention is “an extremely controllable and stoppable and safe system”. As this might be the case today, only one could know how such a technology could evolve in harmful ways, especially if instructions on how to conceive Xenobots were to be leaked.

Should it be legal?

This is a question that can be answered ethically, but also on the health security scale. A good comparison is human cloning. In 2005, the United Nations declared that they would be prohibiting “all forms of human cloning inasmuch as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life”. As the potential for such innovations seems groundbreaking, its dangers could also become out of control. Technological progress, in general, is extremely volatile, which means that its unpredictability could escalate into terrible conditions for human beings.

Such a dilemma can be found in any technology nowadays. There is this sudden urge to develop as fast as possible, without taking into consideration the possible constraints. The underlying fact is that banning technology is a secure way not to be harmed by it, but is also a way not to benefit from it. For example, banning cloning has proved to work regarding human-clone danger, yet other problems are threatening human life. The major one is the environmental crisis.

As a reminder, “There will be no water by 2040 if we keep doing what we’re doing today”, according to Professor Benjamin Sovacool from Aarhus University in Denmark. This means that we have 18 years to find a solution to counter the effects of the growing pollution. By consistently banning technology, we are closing the doors to solutions that could maybe solve the environmental crisis.

The proper answer is to regulate, or maybe restrict the use of Xenobots to all private companies, so that it is possible to focus and manage the development of such a technology, to prevent it from becoming a deviant mean.  As such, the government should theoretically ensure that the innovation is used in beneficial ways.

Sources used:

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/xenobots-worlds-first-living-robots-can-reproduce-scientists-say

Xenobots 2.0: Scientists Create the Next Generation of Living Robots
Xenobots 3.0: Living Robots That Can Reproduce
Memory Recordings
Xenobots 3.0: The Marvel of Self-replicating Living Robots

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-unveiled-the-worlds-first-living-robots-last-year-now-they-can-now-reproduce-180979150/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2273516-living-robots-made-from-frog-skin-cells-can-sense-their-environment/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/swarm-intelligence

https://theconversation.com/will-self-replicating-xenobots-cure-diseases-yield-new-bioweapons-or-simply-turn-the-whole-world-into-grey-goo-173244#:~:text=Any%20hostile%20use%20of%20xenobots,Protocol%20and%20Chemical%20Weapons%20Convention.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/xenobot-living-robots-can-reproduce-69477

https://www.nature.com/articles/palcomms201719#:~:text=Feelings%20run%20strong%20on%20both,the%20protection%20of%20human%20life%E2%80%9D.

https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/freshwater/when-will-the-world-run-out-of-water#:~:text=Unless%20water%20use%20is%20drastically%20reduced%2C%20severe%20water%20shortage%20will,the%20entire%20planet%20by%202040.

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17 January 2022
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The dangers of promoting cryptocurrency.

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Crypto and regulation

On the 17th of January, Adi Robertson published the following article in The Verge: “Spain will regulate Influencers promoting cryptocurrency”. Throughout the article, he explains that the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV; Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores) will act against the free promotion of influencers over the crypto world. 

According to the article, influencers with more than 100,000 subscribers that are paid to advertise a specific currency will have to notify the CNMV 10 days before they can launch the campaign. Moreover, during their ad campaign, influencers will have to display a warning reminding the public of the dangers of crypto assets. Very much like cigarettes, gambling, and alcohol, marketing will have to expose health exposures.

Yet is cryptocurrency a menace? If that is the case, should its promotion be regulated? These are the questions that will be answered within this article.

Is cryptocurrency dangerous?

It is quite blatant that anything regarding investing money is narrowly linked to risks, and therefore high rewards as well as instability. Therefore, to fully understand the risks of cryptocurrency, it is important to understand the existence of a security vulnerability. 

Back in August 2021, the Blockchain Poly Network was hacked, meaning they lost around $600 million in crypto assets. As for any investment or anywhere you place your assets, money will never be entirely secured. Its decentralized status makes the crypto holder even more vulnerable in the eyes of hackers, as the assets are no standard practice to recover the invested funds. A bank could go insolvent, your stockbroker could lead you to the wrong investment, your cash under your mattress could turn to ashes as your entire house burns down. The crypto world, as digital as it is, is far from being associated with security.

On the financial aspect, cryptocurrency is known to be extremely volatile, making predictions harder and riskier. An investor’s portfolio could therefore skyrocket as well as it could completely plummet, meaning that full attention is needed to react as soon as possible.

Now, as you will be able to find all around today’s market, scams will forever be one customer threat. This is also the case for cryptocurrency, with attempts of stealing money through phishing e-mails, deceitful cloud mining platforms, or “exit scams”. What is an exit scam? It is simply the creation of a new cryptocurrency where investors can escape with money.

With the recent booming hype of cryptocurrency, dangers for pump and dump have become even higher than ever. As a reminder, pump and dumps are when: “scammers create false hype about a stock to generate interest. Once investors start buying shares, the price of the stock goes up. When the price reaches a certain point, the scammers behind the fake hype sell all of their shares. This causes the stock to plummet, which leaves new investors holding the bag” (www.cnet.com). As every influencer seem to be shouting the words: Binance, Ethereum, and Bitcoin, one can imagine how a deceiving influencer could react when he sees the potential through pump and dump.

In the eyes of the law, cryptocurrency is also known for its money-laundering capacities. Smurfing, or money-laundering through crypto exchanges and withdrawing from ATMs are the most known schemes that are currently operating. Furthermore, cryptocurrencies indirectly give access to the black market, the dark web in particular. Thanks to its decentralized status, tracing back transactions are close to impossible. 

As well as being dangerous for investors, cryptocurrency is also harmful to the environment. To run blockchains and servers, intensive energy usage is required, meaning that there is a considerable backlash on the ecosystem.

All in all, the list of threats goes on, but does this mean that its promotion should be regulated?

Should cryptocurrencies’ publicity be regulated?

The answer is simple, yes of course it needs to be regulated. In my opinion, every advert, never mind the product, should display the drawbacks of a specific product. While the negative consequences of a product can easily be forgotten, it is consequently why potential consumers need to be reminded of the potential dangers. 

Additionally, as 95 percent of 3 to 18-year-olds have home internet access according to the American Community Survey (ACS), it is essential that dangers regarding their health are understood.

In France for instance, most product promotion is regulated. For example, for unhealthy food, you will see displayed messages such as: “Pour votre santé, mangez au moins cinq fruits et légumes par jour” or “Pour votre santé, évitez de manger trop gras, trop sucré, trop sale”, which translates to: “For your health, eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day” and “For your health, avoid eating too much fat, too much sugar and too much salt”.

To educate and advocate for better health, customers must be aware of the drawbacks of the product or service. Hopefully, the CNMV’s decision will be the steppingstone to regulate cryptocurrencies’ promotion.

Sources: 

https://www.nerdwallet.com/uk/investing/cryptocurrency-risks-guide/#:~:text=no%20small%20thing.-,Cryptocurrency%20security,site%20Poly%20Network%20was%20hacked.

https://www.investopedia.com/tech/what-are-legal-risks-cryptocurrency-investors/

https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/cryptocurrency-risks-to-your-institution-and-the-regulatory-landscape/

OTC Markets Policies on Section 17(b) and Stock Promotion

https://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/31_070228.pdf

1 January 2022
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Satellites and Space’s future

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Conflicts setting new standards

Recently, the Chinese government has reportedly complained about (SpaceX CEO) Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites. According to China, the growing number of satellites in space could become a dangerous threat to space safety.

In response, to the complaints, he responded that space is huge and that satellites are minuscule: “Space is just extremely enormous, and satellites are very tiny” (The Financial Times). 1,900 is the current number of Starlink satellites in orbit, while the total planned number of satellites to be sent in space is reported to be 42,000. According to the CEO, these satellites would know how to coexist, allegedly embracing space safety. He explains that: “This is not some situation where we’re effectively blocking others in any way. We’ve not blocked anyone from doing anything, nor do we expect to” (The Financial Times). Elon Musk explained that “tens of billions” of satellites and spacecraft could orbit around the Earth.

Space being such a lowly regulated space, and scarcely untouched on the business side, rules and laws are yet to be set. According to the head of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, Elon Musk is “making the rules for the new commercial space economy”. He also believes that the CEO has a major interest in sending satellites in space as soon as possible, as there will be less and less space for other competitors to send theirs.

Yes or no to more space regulation?

Daniel Baker, Director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, explains that “scientists should push for the establishment of global rules on launching commercial satellites that could pose hazards in space and that could hinder astrophysical observations”.

Mr. Baker explains that most satellites, smallsats to be precise, will orbit in low Earth orbit (LEO), which means lower than 2,000km. As well as they will improve communication capabilities, they will also cause issues such as space debris crashing into spaceships and satellites. This would therefore mean that sending a rocket to space in a few years will become more dangerous than it is today.

In regards to space safety, standards must be met during the conception of satellites. Firms whose satellites highly pollute space shouldn’t be left untouched.

Concerning the number of satellites allowed in space per firm, numbers could be discussed, but this could potentially mean regulatory risks. As a reminder, regulatory risk is: “the risk a change in laws and regulations will materially impact a security, business, sector, or market. Thus, (…) can increase the costs of operating a business, reduce the attractiveness of an investment, or change the competitive landscape in a given business sector.”

Regulatory risk is therefore a major geopolitical concern. Does a country want to reduce the space development of firms in its territory? Probably not. (thus leading us to an international agreement). Yet, do countries want to reduce future investments in space technology? In my opinion, sure why not?

As countries all together will be limited by the same rules, technological space development may undergo a slight slowdown as incentives to investments would be lowered. But who cares? No? On the flip side, technological space development will evolve by meeting sustainable and ethical goals. Except if there is a space race to develop faster than other planets, a high pace development isn’t desired. In other words, as long as there are no threats vis-à-vis humans from other planets, we should only focus on technologically advancing sustainably and ethically.

Sources:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regulatory_risk.asp

https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-innovation/elon-musk-denies-his-satellites-are-hogging-space-434913

https://www.ft.com/

17 December 2021
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Social media, free speech, and protection

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Free speech vs hate speech

These two terms have been faced off many times before throughout history and political debates. On one hand, one part of the population believes that free speech constitutes speech without hatred, and on the other hand, others believe that defining hate speech and condemning it is a barrier to free speech.

This political debate has been integrated differently around the world. For instance, in the US, according to the first amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (https://constitution.congress.gov/). In other words, concepts such as hate speech do not exist, and you may express whatever you want, hence defining American free speech.

On the flip side, the European Commission defines hate speech as: “the denigration of the reputation of a social group, stereotyped by some particular national, racial or religious characteristics, accompanied by incitement to hostility, violence, and discrimination against that group” (https://ec.europa.eu/). In the case of the UK, such communication can result in fines, imprisonment, or both.

Throughout this article, I would like to make it clear that hate speech will be the European Union’s definition. 

Unfortunately, such practice has become more and more popular, and with the rise of social media, and the digitalization of communication, this behavior can also be found online. The main issue is the fact that there are more chances that people experience it, as social media dependencies are rising, with 4.72 billion users and around 330 million people potentially suffering from internet addiction in 2021.

(Source:  https://influencermarketinghub.com/social-media-addiction-stats/)

Furthermore, the internet’s access has developed to the point that children are easily exposed to it, 95 percent of 3 to 18-year-olds had home internet access, according to the American Community Survey (ACS). Probabilities to affect the younger generation through hate speech are therefore rising.

The question arises: should measures be taken by social media companies to prevent hate speech from happening? Or should these companies leave information untouched, so that users can learn from free speech?

The substantial effect of hate speech on children

To clarify potential assumptions, I do believe that internet exposure should be reduced, especially for children for hate information exposure, but also for other consequences, such as: “Children and teens who spend more time with social media or who sleep with mobile devices in their rooms are at greater risk for sleep problems. Exposure to light (particularly blue light) and stimulating content from screens can delay or disrupt sleep and have a negative effect on school.” (Source: https://www.healthychildren.org/)

Yet I also believe that the internet is a great place to educate yourself, and it would be a waste of prohibiting internet access for children. As defined by Ofer Malamud, Santiago Cueto, Julian Cristia, Diether W. Beuermann: “Internet access can potentially affect a range of skills including academic achievement and cognitive skills. If children lack educational materials, internet access may improve the development of academic skills by providing access to educational websites with subject-specific content and exercises (e.g. Khan Academy).”

(Source: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w25312/w25312.pdf) 

Concerning the dangers of hate speech vis-à-vis the youth, the effects are considerable and should never be neglected. Childhood or primary socialization for sociologist Emile Durkheim, is the process of when a person learns how-to live-in society, build his own identity, and integrate social norms. Furthermore, according to Rishi Sriram, an associate professor for the School of Education at Baylor University: “This first critical period of brain development begins around age 2 and concludes around age 7. It provides a prime opportunity to lay the foundation for holistic education for children.” 

With such a learning ability, hate speech would therefore disrupt a child’s personality, ultimately making him a hateful (or “deviant”) individual. Hence, social media, search engines, online media firms need to act to restrict this sort of content.

Lack of government regulation

In a recent article from The Verge, a school has canceled classes because of Tik Tok threats: “Districts in California, Texas, Minnesota, and Missouri have said they plan to close down Friday in response, according to the districts and local media reports.” 

(Source: https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/16/22840621/tiktok-december-17-school-threats-district-cancellations-alleged-shootings).

The main issue, other than the threats made towards the schools, is that the schools are adapting themselves to social media. If these threats were regulated and traced back to the originator, the government could then punish the culprit.

International law should therefore be considered and would force internet platforms to regulate their content, therefore, preventing them from being a means of hatred spread. It is important to note that firms in the US, do have the right to censor content if they wish to do so: “The First Amendment protects individuals from government censorship. Social media platforms are private companies and can censor what people post on their websites as they see fit.”

(Source: https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/primers/free-expression-on-social-media/)

What are the technical solutions companies can use today?

The traditional solution is the use of moderators (or “modos”) that can check and remove hostile comments. With the continuous development of Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning, solutions are also being worked on to counter the threats of malicious online users. 

Facebook is currently using an AI that prevents such comments. It is important to note that these tools are still in development, meaning that the margin of error is higher today than it will be tomorrow. Furthermore, the main issue with moderators of an AI algorithm is bias. It is therefore important that through these solutions, biases such as political inclination should not be considered. Ultimately, the main goal is to reduce the risks of online threats while keeping free speech.

(Source: https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-ai-hate-speech-improves-unclear/) 

3 December 2021
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Do Spoiler Alerts Make you stupid?

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Spoilers could supposedly better your experience

On Tuesday the 23rd of November, the article: “Spoiler Alert: Spoiler Alert Are Making Us ALL Stupid”, was published on Wired by Jason Kehe. Throughout this article, the author underlines the fact that spoilers shouldn’t be an issue for any of us. 

Through a few studies, it has been declared that spoilers don’t ruin your experience, they enhance it by contributing to what is called processing fluency (Leavitt & Christenfeld, 2011, 2013). The processing fluency is: “a cognitive bias in which our opinion of something is influenced by how easily our brain processes it and understands it.” (convertize.com). Allegedly, this would therefore forge better enjoyment vis-à-vis the person hearing, watching, or reading the narrative.”

According to the fan base of the television show “Lost”, some qualified spoilers as: “an interesting and enjoyable facet of the entire media experience”(Gray & Mittell, 2007).

As reported by different studies, spoilers aren’t as bad as some could think, and they would somehow be beneficial to us. Therefore, should society tolerate spoilers? Is the ever-going trend of spoiler alerts completely nonsensical? Should spoiling stories be normalized?

Spoilers are prone to ruin the narrative

The answer is no. One of the reasons why watching a movie or reading a story without knowing the outcome is so enjoyable, is because it brings a sense of realness to the whole experience. Anything could happen. According to the psychology professor at Pace University, Thalia Goldstein, the conscious parts of our brain are aware of the realness of the movie, whereas the more primitive parts aren’t, allegedly making the moment more intense.

Furthermore, anticipation is key to optimizing many activities. Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard psychology professor, explains in his book that: “Forestalling pleasure is an inventive technique for getting double the juice from half the fruit.” Along the same lines, D. Zillmann believes that suspense delivers more enjoyment and ultimately, gives the reader, spectator, or listener a better experience. Speculating on what the outcome could be, keeps our brain stimulated, and therefore constitutes an intrigue for the unknown. 

In 2016, Yan D. and Tsang A.S. demonstrated that a narrative with a spoiled plot twist created a “focusing illusion”. This meant that once the spectator is exposed to the outcome of a story, his mind would be drawn to that aspect. Thus, this would mean ruining the narrative, as less attention would be paid towards the plot development.

Likewise, people with no knowledge of the conclusion of the story are more likely to “engage in process-focused thinking, which involves elaboration on the step-by-step process”(Trope & Liberman, 2010; Zhao, Hoeffler, & Zauberman, 2007). If anything, discovering a story makes you smarter.

The bottom line is that exploring a story you have never heard about grants you the opportunity of processing every step, every detail of it, and being able to put yourself in the character’s shoes. As Johnson B. K. and Rosenbaum, J. E. clarified in 2015: “we find that approaching a narrative for the first time, without knowledge of the ending, can, after all, help enhance enjoyment, appreciation, and transportation.”

So, spoilers: an advantage or a liability?

You could be tempted to ask me: “So, spoiler alerts are good for us, right?”, and I would answer: “Of course, spoilers shouldn’t even exist!”. Yet, as you already know, we are all entitled to our own opinions, and mine is (unfortunately…) not the universal truth. In fact, as individuals, our personality determines if spoilers are beneficial for us. For some “Our worst fears lie in anticipation” (Don Draper in “Mad Men”), for others, “Anticipation was the soul of enjoyment” (Elizabeth Gaskell).

To understand the polarization of feelings regarding spoilers, it is important to explain two key concepts: the need for cognition (NFC) and the need for affect (NFA). NFC is the “tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive endeavors” (Cacioppo, Petty, & Kao, 1984), and NFA is the “individual’s motivation to approach or avoid emotion-inducing situations” (Maio & Esses, 2001). Throughout recent studies, it has been proved that people with a lower NFC preferred spoiled stories, whereas people with a higher NFA favored narratives that were unspoiled (Thomas A. Daniel, Jeffrey S. Katz, 2018). In other words, individuals who have sparse gratification while thinking through narratives will probably prefer spoiled stories, and those who are looking forward to feeling the emotions will choose unspoiled stories.

In conclusion: yes or no to spoiler alerts?

Yes of course! Those who prefer spoiled stories are free to read any articles, whereas those who try to avoid them still have a high chance of having future narratives ruined. Spoiler alerts are a respectful way of letting others know that they have the choice of discovering the outcome of a narrative by themself. 

To reduce the frustration of those who avoid getting spoiled and those who avoid seeing spoiler alerts, technological solutions should exist. Imagine, on YouTube, Twitter, or Instagram the possibility of choosing to see or not to see spoiler-sensitive content. Similar options exist today: Video Blockers, Social Fixer, Spoiler Protection 2.0, Unspoiler or Shut Up. All these solutions work thanks to one strategy, which is keywords. The user can decide to ban some words, and the content that contains them will not be displayed.

A more optimized solution was worked on in 2013: “Spoiler alert: Machine learning approaches to detect social media posts with revelatory information.” (Boyd-Graber, J., Glasgow, K., Zajac, J. S.), which explained how machine learning could be the solution to such a challenge. Artificial intelligence is yet to be introduced to our world, but as for today, please use spoiler alerts.

Thomas Duverneix-Long (2021)

Sources used:

  • Yan, D., Tsang, A. S. (2016) The misforecasted spoiler effect: Underlying mechanism and boundary conditions. Journal of Consumer Psychology 26(1): 81–90
  • Zillmann. (1995, January 1). Mechanisms of emotional involvement with drama
  • Johnson, B. K., Rosenbaum, J. E. (2015) Spoiler alert: Consequences of narrative spoilers for dimensions of enjoyment, appreciation, and transportation. Communication Research 42(8): 1068–1088. doi:10.1177/0093650214564051.
  • https://www.wired.com/story/spoiler-alerts-are-making-us-all-stupid/
  • https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/03/scientific-explanations-for-why-spoilers-are-so-horrible/274227/
  • Leavitt, J. D., Christenfeld, N. J. (2011) Story spoilers don’t spoil stories. Psychological Science 22(9): 1152–1154.
  • Rosenbaum, J. E., Johnson, B. K. (2016) Who’s afraid of spoilers: Need for cognition, need for affect, and narrative selection and enjoyment. Psychology of Popular Media Culture 5(3): 273–289. doi:10.1037/ppm0000076.
  • Levine, W. H., Betzner, M., Autry, K. S. (2016) The effects of spoilers on the enjoyment of short stories. Discourse Processes 53(7): 513–531.
  • Reber, R., Winkielman, P., Schwarz, N. (1998) Effects of perceptual fluency on affective judgments. Psychological Science 9(1): 45–48.
  • https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/how-to-avoid-spoilers/
  • (Spoilers Affect the Enjoyment of Television Episodes but Not Short Stories – Thomas A. Daniel, Jeffrey S. Katz, 2019, 2021)
  • Boyd-Graber, J., Glasgow, K., Zajac, J. S. (2013) Spoiler alert: Machine learning approaches to detect social media posts with revelatory information. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 50(1): 1–9.
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