Author Archives: 46419

A little cleaner dirty work

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Laundering dirty clothes is definitely a part of our lives, or at least it is supposed to be. We do it practically every week, since who would want to wear filthy clothes. But have you ever wondered how many liters of water a single use of a washing machine can possibly consume? Let me quickly give you the answer. On average, one laundry can use from 60 to even 140 liters of water. We don’t really realize this on a daily basis, but when we think about it, it’s a lot, especially taking into account the number of loads of laundry we have to do in a single session. But what would you think if instead of using water in a washing machine we would use carbon dioxide…?

I know it sounds very weird. We would probably never think of carbon dioxide as a replacement for water in washing machines. But such an idea came from South Korean technology giant LG Electronics Inc. We will probably not see these washing machines on store shelves in the near future, but the company has recently received permission from The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy to test this new, innovative technology.

http://koreabizwire.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/PYH2011021100470001300_P4.jpg

So perhaps we should start by explaining how such a technology would even work, after all, carbon dioxide is not water. Such a washing machine, instead of using water, transforms carbon dioxide from a state of gas into a liquid by cooling and compressing, and then use it to clean our clothes. This washing machine can remove dirt using the viscosity and surface tension of carbon dioxide, without using water, detergent or oil. What is also important is that after the operation is over, the washing machine changes the carbon dioxide back from liquid to gas and can use it in the next wash. It sounds out of this world.

What is the greatest advantage of this revolutionary technology is the fact that it does not consume any water. This makes it very eco-friendly. As I mentioned earlier one wash can use from 60 to up to 140 liters of water and on average we do 3 loadings a week. This is a great water saving especially in a world where huge amounts of water are wasted at every step.

http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/photo/202112/85191_99259_327.png

Sources:I am really curious how this technology will develop in the nearest future. Unfortunately, we will not see these washing machines in stores in at least 2 or 3 years, since LG takes 2 periods of time to test such a solution. However, I think it is worth waiting for. We can simultaneously lower our water bills and help the planet by reducing our water consumption.

http://koreabizwire.com/lg-electronics-gears-up-to-develop-commercial-waterless-washing-machine/207953

http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=85191

https://www.ajudaily.com/view/20211230133423844

Will robots fight for us?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Quoting a classic “War… War never changes…Only the weapons are new.” These words briefly but succinctly describe what war is like – always the same – brutal, bloody, barbaric, and savage. It is no big surprise that technology has always advanced most rapidly during wartime.

Yet now we have reached a new stage in the development of weapons. Weapons no longer even need to be operated by a man or a group of men, because they will know their target very well, their enemies, and in real-time will devise their approach to win as efficiently and as quickly as possible.

Many of you have probably seen videos of self-driving drones, robots doing tactical moves, or robot dogs with rifles mounted on them. In addition, there are also many intangible weapons – programs that hack or steal data or mislead opponents. This is no longer a distant future, and investment and research into this have been going on for many years. However, is it a step in the right direction…

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-5C9yhvA4YUY6Hi_N3UqyDSCSyQ=/0x0:1395×1200/920×613/filters:focal(596×241:818×463):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69994007/sword_spur_robot_dog_gun.0.jpeg

Before I list the “pros” and the “cons” of this solution I would like to point out that war is always evil no matter who fights in it or why.

Honestly, the only “advantage” I find in this is that maybe people wouldn’t die in such huge numbers, although I don’t see this as a certainty.

Moving on now to the downsides of the robotization of armies and weapons, firstly artificial intelligence may have a big problem in distinguishing hostile humans from unarmed civilians or children. After all, artificial intelligence is a relatively new technology that we have not fully mastered and mistakes can happen daily. But those mistakes will not be able to be reversed.

Another downside is that technology – like any other – will be stolen sooner or later by unscrupulous people or terrorists who will exploit it. There is also another danger in the form of hacking such as equipment and remote control or reprogramming the target. And worst of all, in both cases, it will not be possible to locate the criminals, because they may as well be on the other side of the world and control everything remotely.

Another issue is who will be held accountable for the consequences of the actions – mistakes – of artificial intelligence. Because on the one hand, no one will control it in the traction of action or mission — it will do what it thinks is right. On the other hand, it can’t be held accountable because it’s just an AI and not a real person or group of people.

The last, more to the point, the bad side is whether we put so much money and resources into the military and the development of military technology instead of into more peaceful technologies that bring prosperity to people.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/attachement/jpg/site1/20121206/00221917e13e122a2d7211.jpg

In summary, in my opinion, creating such military projects is not a good idea. There are too many unknowns and too much margin for error. And the consequences can be terrible.

Sources:

https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/14/22726111/robot-dogs-with-guns-sword-international-ghost-robotics

https://www.yahoo.com/news/killer-robots-arent-science-fiction-153546704.html

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2293908-us-military-may-get-a-dog-like-robot-armed-with-a-sniper-rifle/

Robots work in fast food restaurants

Reading Time: 2 minutes

This vision has been presented to us for decades, either in films, books, or other works. However, for the last few years, we have been witnessing the slow fulfillment of this vision, whether we like it or not, we must finally accept that the world is moving forward and changing. The question is if it is in the right direction and what impact this will have on people and workers.

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It seems to me that replacing humans with robots at work in fast-food restaurants will become more and more popular and more companies will accept it. There are many positive arguments for the owners. You will have to invest in a robot once and then only service it from time to time. A robot will perform simple tasks much faster and more accurately than a human. Their work is more effective and they do not get tired and do not need rest. Robots will also always behave in the same way towards customers, there is no question of injustice or treating anyone worse. Employees will not need to be trained, nor will time be wasted on hiring them or settling accounts with them. Customers will also be happy because they come there to eat something quickly, and if the efficiency and speed of serving food improve then they will not complain about it. A good question is also whether people after the events with the virus will want to return to live restaurants at all. Maybe most people are already used to ordering everything home and that convenience.

On the other hand, such robots will certainly not be cheap at the beginning, and this will probably change with time if they become more and more popular, but there must be people who will invest in them first. The cost of powering them may also be high, energy consumption would certainly increase, and with it come higher costs and non-ecological activities. In addition, many people would lose their jobs, which may not be their dream jobs, but can always give freedom and permission to make a living and develop further.

https://i0.wp.com/www.diegocoquillat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/KFC-moscow-3.jpg?fit=700%2C336&ssl=1

The revolution to replace humans with robots in the workplace began many years ago. Starting with simple calculations, through more and more demanding tasks, up to regular physical work. Although it is not visible at first glance, today many activities are not executed by ourselves but by machines and technology, and we have managed to get used to it. I would say, even more, we can’t imagine life without them anymore, so getting used to further changes is only a matter of time.

Sources:

https://fortune.com/2021/11/29/fast-food-robots-labor-shortage-automation-pandemic/

https://www.cnet.com/news/flippy-the-fast-food-robot-makes-fries-at-white-castle-gets-an-upgrade/

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/22/restaurants-looking-for-labor-and-speed-turn-to-robots-.html

https://www.engadget.com/miso-155541183.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFwx71Q6FfVw3cPXK6e2y4McPuEOP_CC3nOjGFbplznXcD8MaXEEQsqMGnDoBnwM4973Tw69qSeM2M7tqCIda7TPxWF4l1tnPAf_z6XkY6B_XvV5cA87dfO5ya6X_PO54bu4ITZII2a072uP-IvF-FpL8Sf-B0MeNV106ejTbkQH

Is Facebook’s “Metaverse” really worth it?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

It has been well known for a long time that Facebook is losing its popularity among the younger generation. After all, for all these years it has practically not changed at all, and in this industry, you have to constantly re-interest the user to stay with the application. This decreasing trend will probably not change anymore and more and more people will stop using this portal. By the way, incidents related to Facebook, which come to light all the time, certainly did not help it with the increase in popularity. However, Mark Zuckerberg isn’t giving up, and he continues to fight hard to keep us with his products.

https://cdn.benchmark.pl/uploads/backend_img/c/newsy/2021-11/NG/meta-mark-zuckerberg-1.jpg

Let’s be honest at the outset, this is certainly not about our well-being, the development of civilization, and the implementation of new technologies that make our lives easier. I wonder if the recent situation with the tightening of the privacy policy on Apple devices (which made Facebook lose 6 billion) had something to do with the presentation of the new product.

I’m still not convinced to entrust big companies with our entire lives. I don’t think giving them all our information and data is a good idea. It seems to me that for the present this technology should go mainly in the direction of entertainment. Playing games, virtual events, or keeping in touch with friends. After all, we live in a time where meeting up with friends may be difficult and not everyone has friends nearby. It seems contrived to me that we need virtual reality to do shopping or work. I don’t think it’s a priority to do business meetings (as our avatars) in virtual reality these days. In addition, various sources say that to personalize the appearance of our avatars you will have to pay extra.

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The question is whether this technology won’t really put us out of business. Maybe it will allow us to cut off to everything that is not in accordance with our views and will not close us in a bubble of our ideas which are often wrong.

Another issue is how our data will be stored and what it might be used for. Taking into account all previous situations I do not want to believe that they will be stored safely and will not be used to sell me something for example.

Some time ago we already experienced the restriction of access to Facebook products and the question is whether something like this could happen again with the new technology as well. And since it would be implemented on such a scale, whether its temporary absence would not disrupt our functioning.

Another problem concerns the resources this new technology would use. Do we have such sources of resources and energy to be able to fulfill all our ideas without worrying about non-renewable resources or environmental pollution (which is not caused by ordinary people but by the activities of large companies)? I am not sure about that.

On the one hand, we want to go forward all the time, but on the other hand, we do not care about the consequences of our actions. I think that is a good summary sentence.

Sources:

The fight for our data

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Apple introduced its new App Tracking Transparency policy, which made it necessary for an app to ask permission to track users and their behaviours in order to give personalised ads. It’s not hard to guess that most users have given up on personalized ads in favor of their own privacy.  Advertisers have redirected their budgets and changed the platforms they advertise on, leaving the likes of Snap, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube alone.

https://businessinsider.com.pl/firmy/strategie/apple-vs-facebook-konflikt-o-prywatnosc-uzytkownikow-i-danych-o-co-chodzi/sfrt43p

On the one hand, one would like to say that finally some company has taken to protecting its customers’ personal data. Data which, as it is commonly known, have become a new kind of currency nowadays. And as we all know who has information has money, and whoever has money also has power.

On the other hand, we are left with questions that probably will not be answered soon. Because monopolization of the market is never a good situation, and we are left in a position where in fact one company has exclusive access to all our personal data. And this situation is certainly in their favor and the question is how it will be used. Because surely in many situations in the future it can give them a better chance to achieve their objectives. It is also important to remember that other companies will surely not give up. This may backfire on users of other devices. It may also come to a situation where we will get more ads in apps for which the new rules were not so restrictive.

However, two things are very certain in this situation. The first one is the fact that the market of online advertising is huge nowadays and for sure none of the companies which participate in this business will not give up their place so easily. The second is that our data and reactions in the virtual world have a great value for companies, but our good not so much. This battle is certainly not about our good but about the good of a particular company, so maybe it would be worth thinking about not giving them everything on a plate.

Sources:

https://www.ft.com/content/4c19e387-ee1a-41d8-8dd2-bc6c302ee58e

https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-privacy-facebook-youtube-twitter-snap-lose-10-billion-2021-11?IR=T

https://fortune.com/2021/11/01/apple-privacy-policy-costs-facebook-snap-youtube-twitter/

https://www.deepl.com/translator

Image:

https://businessinsider.com.pl/firmy/strategie/apple-vs-facebook-konflikt-o-prywatnosc-uzytkownikow-i-danych-o-co-chodzi/sfrt43p