Lifeboat Foundation

The low cost of genetic testing has prompted a slew of Chinese companies, including 23Mofang and Shenzhen-based WeGene, to enter the market and tap growing demand in the world’s second largest economy, which is expected to reach US$4.3 billion by 2023. Compared to the US, China remains a fairly nascent market for direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

The low cost of direct-to-consumer genetic testing has prompted a slew of Chinese companies to enter the domestic market, which is expected to reach US$4.3 billion by 2023.

(Vanderbilt University, University of Szeged, Budapest University of Technology and Economics)—Team leveraging their radio expertise to create AI “advisors” that shift their radio systems’ strategies on the fly.

We face complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty about the future consequences of cryptocurrency use. There are doubts about the positive and negative impacts of the use of cryptocurrencies in the financial systems. In order to address better and deeper the contradictions and the consequences of the use of cryptocurrencies and also informing the key stakeholders about known and unknown emerging issues in new payment systems, we apply two helpful futures studies tools known as the “Future Wheel”, to identify the key factors, and “System Dynamics Conceptual Mapping”, to understand the relationships among such factors. Two key scenarios will be addressed. In on them, systemic feedback loops might be identified such as a) terrorism, the Achilles’ heel of the cryptocurrencies, b) hackers, the barrier against development, and c) information technology security professionals, a gap in the future job market. Also, in the other scenario, systemic feedback loops might be identified such as a) acceleration of technological entrepreneurship enabled by new payment systems, b) decentralization of financial ecosystem with some friction against it, c) blockchain and shift of banking business model, d) easy international payments triggering structural reforms, and e) the decline of the US and the end of dollar dominance in the global economy. In addition to the feedback loops, we can also identify chained links of consequences that impact productivity and economic growth on the one hand, and shift of energy sources and consumption on the other hand.

Watch the full length presentation at Victor V. Motti YouTube Channel

Hackers equipped with black market software are targeting cash machines with dated software and substandard security and walking away with millions over the course of a series of attacks, according to a collaborative investigation by Motherboard and German newsroom Bayerischer Rundfunk. Though law enforcement agencies are tightlipped about the trend, it’s a sign that banks may be surprisingly vulnerable to cybercrime.

Other sources, granted anonymity by Motherboard, described the same trend: “There are attacks happening, but a lot of the time it’s not publicized,” said one.

Plug-And-Play

Continue reading “This Malware Makes ATMs Spit Out All Their Money” »

Over the past 150 years, ideas have shifted drastically as to what counts as data, which data are reliable and who owns them. Once regarded as stable objects whose significance was determined by a handful of professional interpreters, data are now reusable goods. Their mettle depends on the extent to which they are mobilized across contexts and aggregated with others. Growing in volume, variety and value, data have come to drive the very process of discovery.

How did data get so big? Through political, social and economic interests, shows Sabina Leonelli, in the fourth essay on how the past 150 years have shaped the science system, marking Nature’s anniversary. How did data get so big? Through political, social and economic interests, shows Sabina Leonelli.

As noted by Dan Ariely, who is a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, this “worry that tugs at the corners of our minds is set off by the fear of regret…that we’ve made the wrong decision about how to spend our time.”

Why do such fears rule our day? Perhaps due to the fact that our lives are severely limited, and thus our experiences are confined by an hourglass. Would we reminisce of our past decisions so often if life weren’t so short?

FOMO — the Fear of Missing Out — has been an anxiety of ours since birth. Will our future endeavors provide us a cure or will we continue living and expiring with this constant psychological state?

Continue reading “The Transhuman Condition of ‘FOMO’ — The Fear of Missing Out” »

Ariel Rubinstein, who says economics lacks common sense, heads list of likely winners.

America’s top finance chiefs are on high alert for a recession. For the first time in several years, economic uncertainty is now their lead concern, replacing worries about the difficulty of hiring and retaining talented workers.

Fifty-three percent of chief financial officers expect the United States to enter a recession prior to the 2020 presidential election, according to the Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook survey released on Wednesday. And two-thirds predict a downturn by the end of next year.

Digital assets will only continue to grow. With clearer regulation coming in the near future, large financial institutions such as banks and asset managers will have the official ‘stamp of approval’ needed to participate in the market, driving tokenisation of existing asset classes and substantial capital inflows to the sector.

How investment in safekeeping technology will help determine the winners in Asia’s new token economy.