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Archive for the ‘finance’ category: Page 104

Jan 17, 2018

Philip K. Dick and the Fake Humans

Posted by in categories: finance, information science, internet, robotics/AI

Standard utopias and standard dystopias are each perfect after their own particular fashion. We live somewhere queasier—a world in which technology is developing in ways that make it increasingly hard to distinguish human beings from artificial things. The world that the Internet and social media have created is less a system than an ecology, a proliferation of unexpected niches, and entities created and adapted to exploit them in deceptive ways. Vast commercial architectures are being colonized by quasi-autonomous parasites. Scammers have built algorithms to write fake books from scratch to sell on Amazon, compiling and modifying text from other books and online sources such as Wikipedia, to fool buyers or to take advantage of loopholes in Amazon’s compensation structure. Much of the world’s financial system is made out of bots—automated systems designed to continually probe markets for fleeting arbitrage opportunities. Less sophisticated programs plague online commerce systems such as eBay and Amazon, occasionally with extraordinary consequences, as when two warring bots bid the price of a biology book up to $23,698,655.93 (plus $3.99 shipping).

In other words, we live in Philip K. Dick’s future, not George Orwell’s or Aldous Huxley’s. Dick was no better a prophet of technology than any science fiction writer, and was arguably worse than most. His imagined worlds jam together odd bits of fifties’ and sixties’ California with rocket ships, drugs, and social speculation. Dick usually wrote in a hurry and for money, and sometimes under the influence of drugs or a recent and urgent personal religious revelation.

Still, what he captured with genius was the ontological unease of a world in which the human and the abhuman, the real and the fake, blur together. As Dick described his work (in the opening essay to his 1985 collection, I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon):

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Jan 11, 2018

Bioquark Inc. — Power of Attorney Show — Ira Pastor

Posted by in categories: aging, bioengineering, business, chemistry, DNA, finance, genetics, health, life extension, science

https://www.facebook.com/letonya.moore.5/videos/1970919586269818/

Jan 11, 2018

Playboy — DNA To Find The One — Bioquark Commentary

Posted by in categories: biological, biotech/medical, business, DNA, finance, genetics, health, philosophy, science, sex

http://www.playboy.com/articles/dna-to-find-the-one


Jan 11, 2018

Chinese Workers Abandon Silicon Valley for Riches Back Home

Posted by in categories: finance, government, robotics/AI

U.S.-trained Chinese-born talent is becoming a key force in driving Chinese companies’ global expansion and the country’s efforts to dominate next-generation technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. Where college graduates once coveted a prestigious overseas job and foreign citizenship, many today gravitate toward career opportunities at home, where venture capital is now plentiful and the government dangles financial incentives for cutting-edge research.

“More and more talent is moving over because China is really getting momentum in the innovation area,” said Ken Qi, a headhunter for Spencer Stuart and leader of its technology practice. “This is only the beginning.”

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Jan 7, 2018

Revenue Neutral model reduces altcoin investment risk

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, economics, finance, geopolitics, internet

Titles are chosen by editors and not journalists or experts. I fought my editor over the above title. Yes, I address the teaser—and I explain a solid altcoin investment model. But, that comes after the break. The first part of this article should be titled “Why would anyone quote cost or value in Bitcoin?”. The subjects are highly related, so bear with me…

Today, a reader asked this question:

Some financial sites discuss value in Bitcoin terms, rather
than dollars or Euros. Why would I calculate the value of a
new car, my rent or an investment in this way? It’s hard to
understand how much money I need!

Answer: Your right! It’s difficult to estimate the value of a car or your rent in terms of Bitcoin. You are paid in dollars or Euros—and your landlord quotes rent in the same currency.

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Dec 30, 2017

Inclusive Growth: Profitable Strategies for Tackling Poverty and Inequality — By Robert S. KaplanGeorge SerafeimEduardo Tugendhat | Harvard Business Review

Posted by in categories: business, economics, finance

“Our first principle, therefore, is that corporations should search for projects that generate economic benefits for themselves while creating socioeconomic gains for all other actors in the new ecosystem.”

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Dec 16, 2017

Is Bitcoin a Store of Value?

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, economics, finance, government

Bitcoin has many characteristics of a currency. It is portable, fungible, divisible, resistant to forgery, and it clearly has value. Today, that value came close to $20,000 per coin. Whether it has ‘intrinsic value’ is somewhat of a moot question, because the US dollar hasn’t exhibited this trait since 1972. Today, economists don’t even recognize the intrinsic value of gold—beyond a robust, international, supply-demand network.

Lately, Bitcoin is failing as a viable currency, at least for everyday consumer transactions. The settlement of each transaction is bogged down with long delays and a very high cost. The situation has become critical because of squabbling between miners, users and developers over how to offer speed transactions or lower the cost of settlement. Bitcoin forks and altcoins such as Dash and Bitcoin Cash demonstrate that these technical issues have solutions. Since Bitcoin is adaptable, I believe that these issues are temporary.

But an interesting question is not whether Bitcoin will eventually become a consumer currency. it is whether Bitcoin can distinguish itself as a store of value, rather than just an instrument for payment or debt settlement. After all, a Visa credit card, a traveler’s check and an Amazon gift card can all be used in retail payments, but none of them have value unless backed by someone or something. US Dollars on the other hand are perceived as inherently valuable. They carry the clout and gravitas of institutions and populations, without users questioning from where value arises. (This is changing, but bear with me)…

What about Bitcoin? Does owning some bitcoin represent a store of value? Yes: It absolutely does!

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Dec 15, 2017

Bioquark Inc. — School for Startups Radio

Posted by in categories: aging, bioengineering, biological, biotech/medical, business, cryonics, DNA, finance, genetics, health

http://schoolforstartupsradio.com/2017/11/in_30_minutes/

Dec 15, 2017

Bioquark Inc. — CEO in 10 Podcast

Posted by in categories: aging, bioengineering, biological, biotech/medical, business, cryonics, DNA, finance, futurism, genetics

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lifelessonsnetwork/2017/12/08/g…io-hacking


Dec 11, 2017

Bitcoin Fair Value Calculation

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, economics, finance, government

In an April 2014 article, I demonstrated how one might approach a fair Bitcoin valuation.

  • Original Methodology: What fraction of the daily float
    needed to support daily global commerce will Bitcoin capture?

My methodology was based on the demand that Bitcoin would generate if it displaced a small fraction of cash and credit used for retail and commercial payments around the world. At the time, Bitcoin had a value of USD $450. I estimated that if it captured 5% of global payments, it would have a fair value of about $10,000/BTC (I didn’t complete the calculation—I left that up to the reader. That’s because I was concerned that publishing such a prediction would cause me to lose credibility as an economist and blogger. For what it is worth, I also predicted that a rise to $10,000 would take 5~8 years.

As you might imagine, my friends and family urged me to unload my BTC investment. The April 2014 price of $450/BTC seemed very high to most armchair analysts. After all, thirteen months earlier, it had been just $45.

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