Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryBusiness and Finance

the-forest-and-the-trees-are-in-the-light-concepts-of-environmental-conservation-and-global-warming-plant-growing-inside-lamp-bulb-over-dry-soil-in-saving-earth-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
The forest and the trees are in the light. Concepts of environmental conservation and global warming plant growing inside lamp bulb over dry soil in saving earth concept
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post
Author
News
Date
February 25, 2022
Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics
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Business Prof: We Live in an Era of Unprecedented Abundance

If we’re not making good use of it or it’s not fairly distributed, those are different problems
News
February 25, 2022
5
Business and Finance, Economics

At COSM 2021, business studies prof Jay Richards of the Catholic University of America spoke with Gale Pooley, also a business studies prof at Brigham Young University-Hawaii, on a fact we don’t hear much about in popular media focused on current events: Increasing knowledge and the subsequent dropping over of time prices have ushered in a vast improvement in standards of living. Many will ask, what about rising prices? Well, for example, we must compare rising prices due to various global events today to what things cost in the past: At COSM 2021, Pooley focused on the fact that, in real-world economics, the value of our time is the most critical factor we need to figure in: Brigham Young University Read More ›

young-man-putting-goods-on-counter-in-supermarket-stockpack-adobe-stock
Young man putting goods on counter in supermarket
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post
Author
News
Date
February 25, 2022
Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Law
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Government Mulls Money That Can Only Be Spent on Approved Items

Programmable digital currency restricts citizens’ freedoms for “socially beneficial outcomes”
News
February 25, 2022
6
Business and Finance, Censorship, Law

A story from mid-last year reveals a creepy side to digital currency: “The Bank of England has called on ministers to decide whether a central bank digital currency should be ‘programmable’, ultimately giving ‘the issuer control over “how it is spent by the recipient”: Tom Mutton, a director at the Bank of England, said during a conference on Monday that programming could become a key feature of any future central bank digital currency, in which the money would be programmed to be released only when something happened. He said: “You could introduce programmability – what happens if one of the participants in a transaction puts a restriction on [future use of the money]? “There could be some socially beneficial outcomes Read More ›

freedom-convoy-2022-sign-stockpack-adobe-stock
Freedom Convoy 2022 sign
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post
Author
News
Date
February 22, 2022
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Business and Finance, Censorship, Economics, Law
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No-Buy Lists Are the Next Big Thing After Debanking

When a big online financial service like PayPal works closely with government to monitor citizens, it is violating its founding ideals
News
February 22, 2022
5
Business and Finance, Censorship, Economics, Law

Yesterday, Jonathan Bartlett was writing about the way banks were becoming political in terms of who they are choosing to do business with, otherwise known as debanking. Another trend to watch for is no-buy lists, according to former PayPal COO David Sacks: When I helped create PayPal in 1999, it was in furtherance of a revolutionary idea. No longer would ordinary people be dependent on large financial institutions to start a business. Our democratized payment system caught fire and grew exponentially with millions of users who appreciated its ease and simplicity. Traditional banks were too slow and bureaucratic to adapt. Instead, the revolution we spawned two decades ago inspired new startups like Ally, Chime, Square, and Stripe, which have further Read More ›

big-red-semi-tractor-trailer-room-for-copy-stockpack-adobe-stock
Big red semi tractor trailer room for copy
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post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
February 21, 2022
Categorized
Business and Finance, Cryptocurrency
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Trudeau’s Truckers Reveal Problems with Banking Infrastructure

And crypto isn't the solution you might think it is
Jonathan Bartlett
February 21, 2022
6
Business and Finance, Cryptocurrency

On February 14th, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, invoked the Emergencies Act in order to stop the flow of funding to the truckers who were protesting vaccine mandates in Canada. This order allows and encourages banks to freeze the accounts of anyone suspected of involvement with the protest. The Canadian use of the Emergencies Act in this way has been widely criticized for its draconian and expansive overreach of governmental authority. However, that hasn’t stopped the Canadian government from moving forward with the plan, and they have said that they have already begun freezing accounts. Even before this, though, a Canadian judge had halted access to funds donated to the truckers through the GiveSendGo website. Additionally, GoFundMe, of Read More ›

art-director-checking-the-photos-on-a-monitor-stockpack-adobe-stock
Art director checking the photos on a monitor
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post
Author
News
Date
February 17, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Business and Finance
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How the Digital Age Is Transforming the Entertainment World

Principally by creating many new opportunities that, as Ari Emanuel puts it, are Not Showing at a Theater Near You
News
February 17, 2022
6
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Business and Finance

Philosopher of technology George Gilder interviews Ari Emanuel, CEO of entertainment and media agency Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc., about the new decentralized media landscape powered by dramatic advances in technology. Endeavor, which was founded in 1898 and has 6500 employees, represents “talent across entertainment, sports, and fashion, such as actors, directors, writers, athletes, models, musicians, and other artists in various mediums comprising film, television, art, books, and live events.” (Yahoo Finance) A partial transcript of the talk Emanuel gave at COSM 2021 (November 10, 1:00 pm), on navigating the new media landscape, follows: George Gilder: What did you see in the early nineties that led you to leave your comfortable position and then move out and create a new force Read More ›

bearish-stock-financial-bear-market-chart-falling-prices-down-turn-from-global-economic-and-financial-crisis-stockpack-adobe-stock
Bearish stock financial, bear market chart falling prices down turn from global economic and financial crisis.
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post
Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
February 9, 2022
Categorized
Business and Finance, Social Media
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Zuckerberg’s New Meta Pummeled by Stock Market

Meta (Facebook reimagined) faces a gauntlet of challenges only months after Zuckerberg announced his new "metaverse" initiative
Caitlin Cory
February 9, 2022
4
Business and Finance, Social Media

Last October, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be undergoing a major facelift to become Meta. The Facebook platform we all know and love would remain as is, but Meta would become Facebook’s parent company with a primary focus of developing the “metaverse,” an immersive online experience that Zuckerberg called “the next frontier” of the internet. But Meta is off to a rough start. Facebook’s parent company shed more than $230 billion in market value Thursday, a one-day loss that is the biggest ever for a U.S. company and increases pressure on a stock market long powered by technology shares…. The Facebook parent company surprised investors with a deeper-than-expected decline in profit and a downbeat outlook. The company Read More ›

Cheerful family in a car on a road trip
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post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
February 7, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance
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Driving Technology Needs Public Scrutiny

It is not good enough for safety-related data to be made available to regulators. They must be made available to the public at large
Jonathan Bartlett
February 7, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance

As more and more automation is added to automobiles, the need for public review and scrutiny becomes ever more clear. Unlike other technologies, cars are used on public roads at high velocities, so everyone has an interest in understanding the safety implications of decisions made by car manufacturers. As such, it is important that all safety-related data be made publicly available and subject to public scrutiny. It is not good enough for these things to be made available to regulators. They must be made available to the public at large. To see why, let’s look at the history of Tesla claims about the safety of its Autopilot system. Note that the Autopilot system, despite the confusing name, is not the same thing Read More ›

robot-hand-making-contact-with-human-hand-on-dark-background-3d-rendering-stockpack-adobe-stock
Robot hand making contact with human hand on dark background 3D rendering
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post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
January 31, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance
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Musk Goes All-In on the Tesla Robot

Musk puts all other projects on hold to pursue the dream of eliminating human labor, despite the reality that humans are irreplaceable
Jonathan Bartlett
January 31, 2022
5
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance

In August, during Tesla’s “AI Day” presentations, Musk unveiled the “Tesla Robot.” Or, in reality, a dancing person in a robot costume, along with some made-up specifications about the robot. Many (including the present writer) found this idea for a product line ludicrous, and a mere headline grab. However, in a recent conference call with investors, Elon Musk has doubled down on the Tesla Robot, now named “Optimus,” as being the foundation for the future of the company. In fact, it looks like Tesla has put all of its other development projects on hold in order to work on the robot. The Cybertruck (announced 2019, originally expected in 2021), Semi-truck (announced in 2017, originally expected in 2020), and Roadster 2.0 (announced in 2017, Read More ›

close-up-of-top-important-cryptocurrencies-which-dollar-bank-note-in-background-which-including-of-bitcoin-ethereum-litecoin-dash-zcash-and-ripple-coin-business-and-financial-as-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Close up of top important cryptocurrencies which dollar bank note in background. which including of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Zcash and Ripple coin. Business and financial as concept.
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post
Author
News
Date
January 24, 2022
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Business and Finance, Economics
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Why Cryptocurrencies Like Bitcoin Are Not Ready for Prime Time

Bernard Fickser at Expensivity — friendly to cryptos in principle — offers an unsparing look at the current problems
News
January 24, 2022
21
Business and Finance, Economics

At Expensivity, Bernard Fickser, who has explained how to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) now offers “The Truth About Cryptocurrencies: A Clearheaded Guide to the Crypto World.” (January 15, 2022) For your convenience, we are serializing his work, which can be read in whole here. Here’s Part 6 (of 6): 6 Conclusion: Is Crypto a Mature Technology? So far, this article’s approach to crypto has been a balancing act, weighing pros against cons. Thus, we’ve seen much to commend crypto, but also much to raise doubts about it. In this closing section, I’m going negative. My concluding thesis is this: peer-to-peer distributed blockchain-based cryptocurrencies as they exist now represent an immature technology and miss much of what we would like to see Read More ›

unicorn-on-gold-cube-mountain-start-up-illustration-concept-of-leader-on-a-market3d-rendering-3d-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
unicorn on gold cube mountain . start up, illustration concept of leader on a market.3d rendering. 3d illustration.
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post
Author
Jeffrey Funk
Date
January 24, 2022
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Business and Finance
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Is Rationality Finally Emerging for Unicorn Share Prices?

Share prices are falling as losses continue to mount
Jeffrey Funk
January 24, 2022
6
Business and Finance

2021 was a great year globally for venture capital and startups. Initial public offerings (IPOs) raised a record $594 billion in 2021 globally while VC funding is on track to hit a record $454 billion invested through the first three quarters of 2021.This is up from $332 billion for the first three quarters of 2020, which was the previous record for three quarters. U.S. startups also did well with big increases in both VC funding and IPOs in 2021. Almost $100 billion of funding was given to startups in the first three quarters while for the full year, there were 416 IPOs, of which 128 were from the tech section. The total amount raised was $156 billion, of which $69 billion was for the tech sector. Read More ›

thirty silver coins
sack with the thirty silver coins biblical symbol of the betrayal of judas
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Author
News
Date
January 21, 2022
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Business and Finance, Economics
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Is Cryptocurrency Selling Out to Centralization?

Compared to more conventional forms of money, crypto wealth is radically centralized in the hands of a few
News
January 21, 2022
16
Business and Finance, Economics

At Expensivity, Bernard Fickser, who has explained how to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) now offers “The Truth About Cryptocurrencies: A Clearheaded Guide to the Crypto World.” (January 15, 2022) For your convenience, we are serializing his work, which can be read in whole here. Here’s Part 5 (of 5): 5 The Centralization of Crypto Wealth Decentralization is a watchword of crypto. One of the things said to commend cryptocurrencies is that the blockchain-based peer-to-peer networks that run them are decentralized, residing outside the control of any single authority. This claim that cryptocurrencies are decentralized in their organizational structure is overstated because the peer-to-peer networks that run them can themselves act as central authorities. True, these peer-to-peer networks feel freer and Read More ›

bitcoin-and-cryptomoney-stockpack-adobe-stock
Bitcoin and cryptomoney
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post
Author
News
Date
January 20, 2022
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Business and Finance, Economics
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How and Why Cryptocurrencies Are Revolutionizing Money

The trouble is, cryptos are an immature technology at present and that fact may doom many of the current ones
News
January 20, 2022
20
Business and Finance, Economics

At Expensivity, Bernard Fickser, who has explained how to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) now offers “The Truth About Cryptocurrencies: A Clearheaded Guide to the Crypto World.” (January 15, 2022) For your convenience, we are serializing his work, which can be read in whole here. Here’s Part 4: 4 Crypto’s Revolution in Money and Finance Cryptocurrencies seem different from mass delusions of the past. They do novel things in the world of finance that many people want, such as allow for anonymous exchanges of digital currency that feel a lot like exchanges of ordinary cash. They promise to bypass intrusive government control. And they’ve attracted a lot of very smart talent that is deploying some very cool mathematics and computer science. Read More ›

big-data-futuristic-visualization-abstract-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Big data futuristic visualization abstract illustration
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post
Author
News
Date
December 7, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Global Technology, Machine Learning, Philosophy
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How AI Changed — in a Very Big Way — Around the Year 2000

With the advent of huge amounts of data, AI companies switched from using deductive logic to inductive logic
News
December 7, 2021
10
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Global Technology, Machine Learning, Philosophy

In “Hyping Artificial Intelligence Hinders Innovation” (podcast episode 163), Andrew McDiarmid interviewed Erik J. Larson, author of The Myth of Artificial Intelligence: Why Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do (2021) (Harvard University Press, 2021) on the way “Machines will RULE!” hype discredits — and distracts attention from — actual progress in AI. Erik Larson has founded two two DARPA-funded artificial intelligence startups. Inthe book he urges us to go back to the drawing board with AI research and development. https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/34ce0d74-aa74-4ad9-9599-e9ddf2be56a7-Mind-Matters-News-Episode-163-Erik-Larson-.mp3 This portion begins at 01:59 min. A partial transcript and notes, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Andrew McDiarmid: Can you paint a picture first for us of what the AI landscape looks like today and why it’s not Read More ›

nft-non-fungible-token-stockpack-adobe-stock
NFT | Non-Fungible Token
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post
Author
News
Date
December 3, 2021
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Business and Finance, Economics
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NFTs: Can They Help You Sell Digital Memorabilia Online?

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) like Jack Dorsey’s first tweet or Michael Cohen’s prison badge are creating a new market with a need for new rules
News
December 3, 2021
5
Business and Finance, Economics

At COSM 2021,William Dembski, a mathematician and philosopher who studies cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), offered some thoughts on whether NFTs (non-fungible tokens) can help artists and other creators make a living selling their work on the internet. Are NFTs just “rat poison squared,” as Warren Buffett calls cryptocurrencies? Well, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s first tweet sold for a reported $2.9 million. It’s complex but navigable. According to Dembski, it might be a way forward. But there are pitfalls. The non-tech part is easy to understand. Just as internet-based subscription services like Substack offer a way for talented writers to make a good living free from censorious mediocrities, so NFTs might help artists market their work in Read More ›

devastated kitchen
Devastated kitchen in a demolition house
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post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
December 1, 2021
Categorized
Business and Finance
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Zillow’s House-Flipping Misadventure

People know more about their homes and neighborhoods than algorithms could possibly know
Gary Smith
December 1, 2021
6
Business and Finance

Zillow has become the largest real estate website in the United States, with detailed data on millions of homes including square footage, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, year built, and price and tax history. If the home is or has been offered for sale or rent, there are also interior and exterior photographs and more. Zillow uses its massive database to provide proprietary computer-generated estimates of market values and rental values. When Zillow went public in 2011, its IPO filing with the SEC boasted that, [O]ur algorithms will automatically generate a new set of valuation rules based on the constantly changing universe of data included in our database. This allows us to provide timely home value information on a massive Read More ›

Jack Dorsey
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post
Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
November 30, 2021
Categorized
Business and Finance, Social Media
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Jack Dorsey Resigns from Twitter: “now is the right time”

Some are concerned that his replacement is bad news for free speech
Caitlin Cory
November 30, 2021
5
Business and Finance, Social Media

On Monday, Jack Dorsey announced his resignation as Twitter CEO, explaining that he has “worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders” and that “now is the right time.” “I want you all to know that this was my decision and I own it,” wrote Dorsey in an email to his colleagues that he then posted to Twitter. “It was a tough one for me, of course. I love this service and company… and all of you so much. I’m really sad… yet really happy. There aren’t many companies that get to this level. And there aren’t many founders that choose their company over their own ego. I know we’ll prove this was the right move.” Read More ›

flag-of-china-and-clock-stockpack-adobe-stock
Flag of China and clock
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post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
November 17, 2021
Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics, Ethics, Technocracy
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Gingrich at COSM: China Is the Greatest Threat to Global Freedom

Newt Gingrich fears America will lose to China. George Gilder argues that thinking that way is self-defeating and stupid
Heather Zeiger
November 17, 2021
8
Business and Finance, Economics, Ethics, Technocracy

At COSM 2021, philosopher of technology George Gilder and political analyst Newt Gingrich sparred over U.S.–China relations. Gilder and Gingrich, a former U.S. Congressman, exemplify the two predominant views on China today. Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and author Gingrich says the U.S. should decouple from China, while economist and author Gilder sees collaboration with China as our best — and only — option. Gingrich: Optimism about a more open China is waning In his opening remarks, Gingrich recalled that he was once an optimist that Chinese reformist leader Deng Xiaoping’s opening up strategy would usher in a more democratic China because Communism was incompatible with a free market economy. But, Gingrich, who has been a history Read More ›

industry-metallurgical-plant-dawn-smoke-smog-emissions-bad-ecology-aerial-photography-stockpack-adobe-stock
industry metallurgical plant dawn smoke smog emissions bad ecology aerial photography
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post
Author
News
Date
November 15, 2021
Categorized
Business and Finance, Data Privacy
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Physicality Of Data And The Road To Inherently Safer Computing

The software industry today is precisely where the chemical industry was in 1978; hazard control is a mere afterthought
News
November 15, 2021
7
Business and Finance, Data Privacy

“The Physicality Of Data And The Road To Inherently Safer Computing” was originally published by Forbes, August 24, 2021. David Kruger is Co-Founder and VP of Strategy for Absio Corporation and a co-inventor of Absio’s Software-defined Distributed Key Cryptography (SDKC). Our current concept of cybersecurity is to defend against attacks and remedy failure by erecting more and better defenses. That’s a fundamental mistake in thinking that guarantees failure. Why? Because it’s mathematically impossible for a defensive strategy to fully succeed, as explained in the previous installment of this article series. Another even more fundamental mistake in thinking is that cyberattackers are the cause of our woes. They aren’t. They’re the effect. A hazard is a potential source of harm. Cyberattackers target certain Read More ›

dvd drive and pda
Laptop with pendrive, sd card, CD and portable hard drive. Concept of data storage
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post
Author
News
Date
November 10, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Data Privacy, Economics
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The Physicality Of Data And The Road To Personal Data Ownership

News
November 10, 2021
8
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Data Privacy, Economics

“The Physicality Of Data And The Road To Personal Data Ownership” was originally published by Forbes, July 2, 2021. David Kruger is co-founder and VP of Strategy for Absio Corporation, and a co-inventor of Absio’s Software-defined Distributed Key Cryptography (SDKC). This article is the first in a series on the physicality of data. I’ll follow up with additional installments of this series over the next several weeks, so check back to see those as they become available. All of us tend to conflate the word “data” with the word “information.” Usually, that’s OK, but collapsing data on a computer and information into one thing rather than two separate things makes thinking accurately about data ownership difficult. Here’s why: Information is Read More ›

machine-learning-systems-and-accurate-facial-recognition-concept-smart-phone-with-blue-screen-and-blur-human-faces-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Machine learning systems and accurate facial recognition concept , smart phone with blue screen and blur human faces background
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post
Author
News
Date
November 4, 2021
Categorized
Business and Finance, Data Privacy, Social Media, Surveillance
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Facebook (Meta) is strengthening, not dumping facial recognition

They’re getting rid of the annoying parts but read the fine print
News
November 4, 2021
5
Business and Finance, Data Privacy, Social Media, Surveillance

Jerome Pesenti, Facebook’s VP of Artificial Intelligence, explains the changes to the face recognition system that have accompanied the very recent brand name change from Facebook to Meta: In the coming weeks, Meta will shut down the Face Recognition system on Facebook as part of a company-wide move to limit the use of facial recognition in our products. As part of this change, people who have opted in to our Face Recognition setting will no longer be automatically recognized in photos and videos, and we will delete the facial recognition template used to identify them. This change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in the technology’s history. Jerome Pesenti, “An Update On Our Use of Read More ›