Author Archives: 45276-EX

US Government Buys China Tech

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Back in 2019, a law was passed and signed to make it illegal for United States federal agencies to procure or buy electronics manufactured by certain China-based companies, these include Hikvision, Huawei and, Dahua. The reason for the banning was for fear that the Chinese government could use the transactions to conduct espionage. The ban did not stop the U.S. government though, as three U.S. federal agencies and the U.S. military recently purchased Chinese-made video surveillance equipment. Collectively spending thousands of dollars from the surveillance manufacturer Lorex, owned by Dahua. It is one of several Chinese companies banned specifically from selling to the U.S. federal government. Moreover, the company in question was even banned from economic trade as it was linked to Chinas efforts to suppress ethnic minorities.

Shockingly, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency bought nine hard drives for surveillance systems in May 2021 through a federal supplier. Furthermore, the Defence Finance and Accounting Service bought Lorex Video surveillance cameras in July 2021. According to a spokesperson, they were aware of the ban and performed due diligence. However, they still removed the cameras from service “until further analysis can be performed,” solidifying the fact that they were caught red-handed. At the very least, a Democratic spokesperson for the House Armed Services Committee fully expects the departments in question to take appropriate action for their involvement and mitigate future problems. The department’s excuse was that there was little time for federal contractors to comply with the ban before it took effect. However, I believe this is not a justified reason. I imagine there were many other alternatives to the specific banned Chinese technology purchased. Even if the Chinese tech was superior, this is by no means a legitimate reason for going over the ban. It is a shame that government agencies can get away with breaking laws made specifically for them. If these governments cannot adhere to federal laws, it sends a message that they simply do not care. What I find astonishing is that retail companies like Home Depot and Best Buy pulled this tech off of their shelves on their own accord. Stating their commitment to ethical sourcing and discontinuing their relationships with the Chinese company.

I have little insight into the issue and risk posed when purchasing such Chinese equipment. The banning of these products may have been an overreaction from espionage fear. However, my criticality stems from the fact that an entity can disregard a ban on a product, especially a government entity, and this is where the fear sets in. This would, as expected, lead to some level of chaos depending on the extreme and future scenarios for law-breaking governments. I imagine most people would agree that the departments responsible for breaking the law should be held responsible, and these events should not have transpired in the first place. I see the trend of banning Chinese electronics and technology continuing for a multitude of reasons including data and privacy concerns. And so, it is incredibly important that the disregard of the law from government entities to never happen again, in order to set the right example for the society it governs. It will be interesting to see what consequences come from this, but unfortunately I predict none and it will simply be swept under the rug.

Sources: https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/01/federal-lorex-surveillance-ban/ https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/25/lorex-ezviz-pulled-from-shelves/

Twitter x Cryptocurrency

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Twitter can be considered one of the forefronts in adopting cryptocurrency into its business model. Many new developments have arisen like the creation of a cryptocurrency team and a showcase menu for your NFTS (Non-fungible tokens). Also, the feature to tip twitter accounts using your cryptocurrency coins. The purpose is to ride the wave of crypto growth and become a leading cryptocurrency platform, other than the exchanges themselves. I believe these strides will only benefit Twitter in the long run as adoption increases while consumer averseness fades. Ultimately until cryptocurrency is a part of everyone’s lives in the future.

Starting with Jack Dorsey and selling his first tweet on Twitter as an NFT months ago for nearly 3 million dollars at the time, or 1630 Ethereum, which has grown to an even bigger number, this may have sparked the company’s continued interest in the space. Afterward, Twitter itself dropped an NFT collection of nearly 140 for users entered by simply replying to the tweet. This is an extremely small amount, even for NFT standards, which makes the whole idea even more valuable. Twitter has had a tip feature for a while. This means sending your favourite influencers fiat money (dollars) through Venmo as a token of appreciation. But Twitter took it a set further, as you were then able to tip tokens themselves. The Bitcoin tipping feature was added along with an Ethereum tipping feature just this month. Eventually, Twitter added a page to showcase your NFTS. One of, if not the most widely accessible location to prove NFT ownership, this provided validity for many that they owned valuable art in the form of digital pictures. You can now set your Twitter profile picture to an official NFT that you own boasting a hexagonal share rather than the regular cycle. If that wasn’t enough, Twitter officially announced the formation of its first crypto team, aimed to be “a center of excellence for all things blockchain and web3.” The team will be responsible for the exploration and advancement of crypto payments on the platform, opportunities for monetizing NFTS, and steps towards decentralizing social media and the Twitter platform itself.

These features are incredible and I believe will benefit Twitters users immensely for various reasons. First, by decentralizing Twitter and allowing it to run independently on the blockchain, instead of a server hosted by the business, users will have more privacy and say regarding the data and information they share. They aim to build an “open decentralized standard for social media,” this means that Twitter in this new space dubbed “bluesy protocol” would just be one of many components to it, so Twitter would not have control over this space. The ability to tip with non-fiat currency simply gives more variety to users, considering many people are shifting away from fiat altogether. By providing an open space for users to promote NFT’s brings mainstream adoption, more recognition for Twitter, and the opportunity to bring awareness to the many artists creating these pieces. Mainly, some people will use Twitter for the sole reason of showing off their NFT’s.

This all ties neatly together as Twitter’s co-founder, Jack Dorsey, just stepped down as CEO and will leave the company altogether. Many speculate that Dorsey left to pursue his passion for cryptocurrency, introducing a white paper revealing his own decentralized exchange for crypto. I am sure many are curious about what Dorseys plans are, but I believe he has the interest, knowledge, and vision to make a great cryptocurrency project come to life. However, this crypto-centric stance for Twitter has come with negative feedback. Mainly if Twitter’s advertisement-driven business model could be destroyed as a consequence. Many people think Dorsey’s fixation on Bitcoin was hurting Twitter, but with him leaving, this should quiet the skepticism down. However, his crypto implementations will be here to stay. Overall, Twitter has just begun its ventures into crypto with its early integration of crypto tips and NFT verification and showcasing. They will explore many more developments and help the public participate in crypto activities and eventually help the evolution of the decentralized internet. As a business model, the possibilities are nearly endless with different projects coming into play each day. In the end, crypto will benefit Twitter and it helps the this company is at the forefront for advocating mass adoption.

Sources: https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/10/twitter-is-building-a-crypto-team/?guccounter

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/16886388/jack-dorsey-twitter-bitcoin-cryptocurrency-square/

https://www.ft.com/content/ca4aca6e-b05f-4466-bf10-1d984c2650c4

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitter-looks-to-new-crypto-and-nft-projects-with-the-expansion-of-its-twit/609873/

Livestream Shopping

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Livestream shopping is exactly what it sounds like. An influencer, celebrity, or host is paid to live stream their experience in a store to promote the company’s products through a live video. It is like home shopping TV shows from the past where the host would demonstrate the product, think Shamwow, but it is completely live. Because of this, the audience can interact with the host in real-time and these potential customers can ask questions, or comment on the product at hand. From there, the customer can shop directly on the website being live-streamed from.

Livestream shopping was first popularized in China and was a huge success as this country has the largest e-commerce customer base. To make things more interesting, promotions and giveaways are offered to the viewers too. This opens up a wide variety of possibilities for marketing and partnerships by companies to join in and promote their products. Obviously, Livestream shopping would also boost the given companies’ sales, as in China, the most popular Livestream shopping host racked up an incredible 37 million viewers at once. The first 30 minutes of Alibaba’s Singles Day pre-sale in 2020 generated a whopping $7.5 billion in transaction value during the live stream hosted on Taobao Live.

Now, Twitter has joined the craze and Walmart will be its first retailer to test out the new feature. Walmart has been hosting Livestream shopping events across many social media platforms like TikTok and Youtube and will appear on Twitter’s first Livestream shopping experience. As stated previously, this is Walmarts opportunity to promote a “Cyber Deals” event hosted by none other than Jason Derulo. Like any other host, he will introduce the audience of millions to different products, how they work, and show them off in the process. So customers will be able to directly shop from Twitter with products shown during the stream hung up on a banner for easy access. Walmart has surprise guests joining the event to garner even more attention. Walmart has already hosted more than 15 live streams across different platforms and is eager to perform on Twitter this time around.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Walmart-Cyber-Deals-Shoppable-Livesteam.png

From a business perspective, this event will help Twitter realize the demand for shopping on Twitter. As the company launched the Shop Module in July, which allowed brands, businesses, and retailers to showcase their products directly from their Twitter profiles like a marketplace. Furthermore, the whole idea of bringing the shopping experience to the customer was one of the driving factors of online shopping success. Livestream shopping takes this a step further by making the whole process an interactive experience while grabbing incredible deals. By combining entertainment with seamless shopping, it is no wonder Livestream shopping has already been a hit and will continue to grow with the onboarding of large tech companies such as Twitter. Livestream shopping can be as complicated or as simple to set up too, a company could pour money in to gather celebrities and run large promotions. Or, it could be a smaller content creator simply shopping with its fanbase. As a business model, the possibilities are endless. And I would like to mention that a recent Livestream shopping event hosted by Walmart on the Meta platform called “Joy. Fully” incorporated technology you could not believe. By using an AR lens, viewers would ultimately pick products that “spark joy” for them by tracking their facial expressions. I believe Livestream shopping will continue to grow rapidly. As the combination of entertainment and shopping and the fact that these can be hosted by macro or micro-celebrities makes it an incredibly versatile business model that will continue to generate revenue and create partnerships across mega brands.

Sources: https://influencermarketinghub.com/glossary/livestream-shopping/

Walmart will be the first retailer to test Twitter’s new livestream shopping platform

Walmart partners with livestream platform Buywith on influencer-led shopping experience

Apple’s Electric Vehicle Only Four Years Away

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Originally dubbed ‘Project Titan,’ news released months, if not years ago, that the tech giant Apple was supposedly joining the wave of electric car manufacturing. Now, according to a newly released article, Apple seems to have completed “much of the core work” on the new processor that will power its new electric car. I believe the launch was going to take place in five or more years, and the project even started in 2014, but it looks like Apple has accelerated its timeline and now has a target launch of just four years away.

Using the same technology as the new Apple M1 Silicon chip, regarded as one of the most impressive in the current market, this car will likely boast impressive specifications. The M1 chip will also be capable of AI, with the amount of neural processors implemented. According to a Bloomberg rep, this is the most advanced component of the vehicle, so that is why we are still looking at another four years of development. However, Apple plans to put the chips to the test and implement them in a fleet of test vehicles to get some hard data for quicker future reference. Apple plans to beat its competitors by adding stronger safeguards than what is currently available with your favourite EV makers like Tesla and Waymo. Apple’s autonomous car will be extremely ambitious, with an iPad-style touchscreen display and no steering wheel whatsoever. What comes as the biggest surprise is that Apple looks to make the vehicle compatible with existing charging station standards. All jokes aside, this is not something you see with Apple nowadays as they always seem to release a new component only compatible with Apple brand products.

The business model is still a mystery. Apple could build and develop a self-driving fleet to compete with Uber and Lyft or it could become a regular car manufacturer and develop to sell to individuals similar to Ford. It is highly speculative, but once autonomous vehicles reach a certain point, there really will not be a need for Uber to exist in terms of human drivers. Maybe we could even see Apple partner with Uber for it’s application and have Apple self-driving cars doing all the work. Either way, this venture should be a success considering Apple’s research and development team is one of the best, and they have one of the largest cash holdings for any company in the world, ready to be deployed for said research towards developing its autonomous vehicles. We can also assume that the integration between existing Apple products and the new Apple car would be tremendous and the sole reason for many individuals to make this new purchase. Furthermore, they will need to create a partnership with an existing auto manufacturer to scale the building of these vehicles. Whichever lucky company that may be will see its stock price soar. From a management perspective, I would want to prove scalability and reliability in Apple’s eyes to potentially receive this contract as it will be a very big deal.

I think the product Apple will create should be incredible and I believe they could be a frontrunner in autonomous EV. However, they are late to the party, so to catch up, its technology must be proven to be effective or better than the competition. With Apple, I think that is quite possible considering the amount of cash and it has and it’s proven technological capabilities. I am curious to see how Apple will differentiate themselves from its competitors or if the Apple brand itself will be valuable enough for consumers to pour in. Apple is considered the most recognizable brand in the world. Below you can find a new 3D render of the Apple Car concept using a predictive model based on Apple’s new patents. This is not definitive and based on vision, speculation and prediction.

Source: https://www.telepolis.pl/images/2021/11/Apple-Car-1.jpg

Sources:

https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/18/22789615/apple-self-driving-car-project-titan-custom-processor-ev

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-18/apple-accelerates-work-on-car-aims-for-fully-autonomous-vehicle

Nvidia’s Earth 2

Reading Time: 3 minutes

By this point in time, it is hard to disagree that climate change is a very real phenomenon caused in some part by human intervention. Yes, climate change is cyclical, but that does not mean that the human race has forwarded this cycle. In fact, we have both accelerated and worsened the impact it will have on the planet. As an individual, you can pretend that you are making a difference, but real change comes through a collective, and what better way than the collective of a near trillion-dollar company.

Known to many as the world’s largest GPU producer, Nvidia has become something larger in recent years. Through its devotion to artificial intelligence and now the metaverse. What caught many people’s attention was the announcement made at its recent GTC conference less than two weeks ago. Nvidia is building a supercomputer tasked to create ‘Earth 2,’ a 3D metaverse replica simulation of the Earth with the aim to predict climate change more accurately. Nvidia agrees that existing prediction models are outdated and incomplete due to changing times and result in inaccurate predictions. Not only will Earth 2 predict changes, but it will also rank the causes and even devise solutions and the accompanied models to provide real solutions. These solutions will also be efficient by using their AI as the model will be designed to choose the most significant positive impacts at the cheapest cost. 

Source: https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/t4A9mmdreaRz9eu5u3a4WD-1024-80.png.webp

The author of this article proposes that Earth 2 will need to be populated for accuracy, and thus our digital twins would eventually be placed here if the project develops accordingly. Furthermore, due to AI prediction, they state that this computer has the potential to model our future. By this, they mean using a what-if analysis based on your current life with your connections and standing on Earth, to then determine the best path and future to fit your specific needs. Now, this technology would be far out, and some would argue ethical dilemmas may appear as humans should control their destiny through autonomy. But what if a computer could decide it for you? Earth 2 then begins to look quite like a sci-fi film, but at face value, the predictive capabilities of solving climate change are the initial goal for this project. Personally, I don’t see any harm using AI prediction, I think it is the next step for human technological advancement along with of course AI itself. From a management perspective, AI will hurt a lot of jobs involving decision making as it can be done perfectly by a machine, you can disagree but I believe that to be the case. From a business perspective, I am curious if Nvidia will somehow profit off of something like this. It could surely license this technology to governmental or change agencies for the predictive model applications. But as for the metaverse aspect, I am sure many consumers would pay huge sums of money if it was implemented correctly.

In short, technology is evolving at a rapid pace and is created to provide solutions otherwise impossible for humans alone. If this technology proves to work to some degree, the benefits are extraordinary, and quite frankly, unthinkable at the moment. Afterward, Nvidia can decide whether to become something humanitarian or make a profit off of this revolutionary technology. Either way, it is great to see tech giants working on real solutions, contrary to the popular donations or planting trees. Don’t get me wrong, those are great things to do and most certainly contribute positively, but Earth 2 has the capability for something greater. Financial institutions and large companies are the players that can enact real change, so this is another step in the right direction.

Sources: https://www.technewsworld.com/story/nvidia-launches-earth-2-and-goes-to-war-against-climate-change-87336.html

https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2021/11/12/earth-2-supercomputer/

Virtual Skyscrapers in the Metaverse

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Singaporean based cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has created a meta verse office using virtual reality and augmented reality. On this virtual skyscraper, located on the 21st floor is a virtual meta verse office where people can go to communicate and interact with the objects around them. Additionally, visitors will be able to “earn revenue, play games with friends, build networks, and much more.” This virtual skyscraper seems like an amazing opportunity for companies, exchanges and brands to join this specific building or similar projects in the hopes of becoming more digital. The article likens this scenario to a shopping mall as there will eventually be many different selections to choose from.

According to Bloomberg, they expect the market cap for the meta verse to reach approximately $800 billion USD by 2024. There are much bigger opportunities and market caps for industries, however, this is no tiny sum and it is obvious that companies will leap one this opportunity to expand and make more money. Even Microsofts CEO has announced his interest and speaking about its potential to transform how we see the world. Once AR and VR become more capable, we will begin to see bigger and more impressive possibilities become a reality. Virtual towns would be a larger scale version of the skyscraper and also entirely possible.

The Virtual Office, Source: Gadgets360

I believe this is great for both businesses and consumers as it means more opportunities and advancements in technology resulting in more choices for purchasing, selling and playing games. Who knows, maybe these virtual offices will reach the point where it becomes so immersive, that companies can actually have their employees inside them as part of an industry of jobs or careers. It will be interesting to see how the meta verse progresses and I am very happy to see this growth tied in with cryptocurrency as I believe the impact and possibilities with legitimate crypto currency projects are endless.

Source:

https://gadgets.ndtv.com/cryptocurrency/news/kucoin-crypto-exchange-metaverse-launches-office-virtual-skyscraper-bloktopia-2599271

All Homes of The Future Should (Not) Come With Wheels

Reading Time: 2 minutes

This article, based on tech and the environment, written by Parag Khanna, proposes that all homes of the future should come with wheels, and I am here to critically assess her point of view. In my opinion, I disagree with this notion especially with some of the claims being made in the article.

They state that trailer homes and RV’s are a “cost-effective, and sustainable alternative to traditional homeownership.” And although there may be some merit to this statement, she further claims that millennials, “witnessed the financial crisis demolish their parents’ house value,” which is why they are switching to mobile homes. This, in my opinion, is a ridiculous claim since for example, from 2006 to 2011 we saw an average of 80-100% growth in residential property value, and then nearly 50% from 2011 to 2017. Therefore this statement is arbitrary and only if these millenials choose not to believe house property value rises.

As for their statement that an RV is a sustainable alternative to traditional homes, this would only be true assuming you do not use the RV as a mobile, and instead have it sit in one area, as the majority of these RV’s have diesel engines that would absolutely ruin the environment. According to another article, Mara Johnson-Groh lived in her RV and did the calculations herself to see how much gas emissions she was producing. After driving, laundry, cooking, and accounting for what she ate, she was actually 1.2 U.S. tons above the global average of carbon dioxide emissions at 6.6 U.S. tons. This is primarily because driving her RV actually contributed to the production of 10000 additional pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Clearly not a “sustainable alternative” like the original article suggests. Now, of course, you can drive less, change to an electric engine, or do a myriad of other improvements, but the exact same can be said for a traditional home. You can make the same improvements to the traditional home to reduce your footprint such as solar panels, reduced waste, cold washing, etc.

In conclusion, I believe her position that all homes should have wheels is only based on assumptions, without facts to back up these claims of sustainability and adverseness to purchasing a home from living through a financial crisis. As I have assessed both of these claims and proven them to be false, it can be stated that her article’s point of view is baseless. Now I do not disagree with the idea of RVs as an alternative to a traditional home if it is done the right way in terms of sustainability. This would mean installing solar panels, adding LED lights and most importantly swapping out the engine for electric. Or if you simply do not use the sustainability argument as the reason behind choosing RVs over tradiitonal homes and instead choose an RV solely on cutting costs, for the mobility, and for the convenience, then it is a good alternative for sure. But with that being said, no, all future homes should not come with wheels.

https://www.popsci.com/technology/parag-khanna-move-book-excerpt/

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/130425/dq130425b-eng.htm

https://outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/essays/is-vanlife-ecofriendly