Business – Page 9 – Impact Lab

Artificial Intelligence, Business, Crime, Science & Technology News

Thieves are now using AI deepfakes to trick companies into sending them money

September 17, 2019

So AI crimes are a thing now

It seems like every few days there’s another example of a convincing deepfake going viral or another free, easy-to-use piece of software (some even made for mobile) that can generate convincing video or audio that’s designed to trick someone into believing a piece of virtual artifice is real. But according to The Wall Street Journal, there may soon be serious financial and legal ramifications to the proliferation of deepfake technology.

The publication reported last week that a UK energy company’s chief executive was tricked into wiring €200,000 (or about $220,000 USD) to a Hungarian supplier because he believed his boss was instructing him to do so. But the energy company’s insurance firm, Euler Hermes Group SA, told the WSJ that a clever AI-equipped fraudster was using deepfake software to mimic the voice of the executive and demand his underling pay him within the hour.

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Business, Latest Trend, New Viewpoints, Science & Technology News

Why becoming a ‘company of one’ is all the rage

September 14, 2019

I recently left the corporate world. After working roughly 20 years in mega-large companies with revenues in the billions I am now a company of one. It’s me and only me.

I do all my own stunts, too. Whether it’s booking travel or sending invoices or writing reports, there is no one to lean on, no one to manage. If I’m being truthful, I’m really enjoying life in my company of one.

Which brings me to Paul Jarvis, author of the fantastic book, Company of One.

The premise is simple. Keeping your business small—versus growing it at all costs—brings you a level of sanity and independence. Growth is not the objective; building something slowly and methodically that is “remarkable and resilient” over the long-term is the name of the game.

In summary, staying small is the next big thing for business.

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Business, Ideas, Science & Technology News, Startup

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Here are twelve problems that could lead to a billion-dollar startup

August 30, 2019

Next generation technology in the home for an aging population.

Startup founders can often find themselves working on an idea that sounds plausible, but does not provide a solution to a problem people care about in a meaningful way. Y Combinator founder and investor Paul Graham says that often, these startups are born from individuals who are simply “trying to think of startup ideas” and not looking for problems. Graham calls these ideas “made-up” or “sitcom” startup ideas, as they sound like something a writer for a television sitcom would come up with when creating a script for a character that had a business idea. The idea seems possible, even though in reality it is bad and no one would use or buy it.

Take a look around at the products and services you are currently using and surrounded by. Why are they there? Well, it’s because they are solving a problem or filling a need you would otherwise be experiencing. This is how all great inventions and startup businesses are born, from a problem or need. From electricity, to the telephone, to the Internet, and more recently to Uber and AirBnb, great businesses are built on big problems.

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Business, Globalism, Science & Technology News, Transportation

‘New Panama Canal’: Paraguay plans transport hub linking Atlantic and Pacific

August 24, 2019

Paraguay plans to turn its remote, sparsely populated northwest into an international transport hub and a key link between ports on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America, in a proposal its government likens to a latter-day Panama Canal.

Investment of over $2bn in basic infrastructure such as roads and bridges aims to transform the Chaco region and boost trade, according to Public Works Minister Arnoldo Wiens. The Corredor Bioceanico will connect ports in Brazil and Chile, while a revitalized highway will span the region from north to south.

“It’s going to generate unprecedented development,” Wiens said in a telephone interview from Asuncion.

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2019 Predictions, Big Problems, Business, Science & Technology News

“This may be the single biggest business opportunity in human history”

August 22, 2019

Dr. Jonathan Foley, 50, executive director for Project Drawdown, joined me for a discussion about climate change (watch in the video player above). His statement, “This may be the single biggest business opportunity in human history,” sounds like hyperbole but there may be no one better qualified to make that statement correctly.

With a PhD in atmospheric sciences from the University of Wisconsin and having spent three decades doing and managing research into climate change, he is certainly qualified on the science. His case that the business opportunity is there hinges on this key premise:

We literally have to reinvent our energy systems, our food systems, our manufacturing, our cities. Everything! You can look at that is like, ‘Crap, that’s a really big problem.’ I think we have to look at as “Wow, what a great opportunity!” especially if we do it right. We can improve lives. We can reduce inequity. We could solve some of our other social ills if we do it wisely. And we could build a better world for future generations and for ourselves.

If we’re going to have to reinvent so much of our modern world, the investment opportunity does begin to be interesting. Clearly, the need for investment capital is there. What about getting a return on that capital?

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Business, Coworking, Employment, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

10 trends that will change how you do business over the next 10 years

August 1, 2019

In only a decade, hiring, culture, workforce distribution, and customer preferences all will look dramatically different.

Some business trends go the way of Formica tables, as we learn in study after study (open office layouts, we’re looking at you). But others evolve as the world develops, and those trends are the ones that demand a complete work overhaul. Educator and author Josh Levine, who has spent the past 15 years helping companies grow culture-driven brands, has done the legwork to pinpoint the top 10 upcoming trends worth your attention.

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Business, Finance, Science & Technology News, Startup

How to start a business with no money

July 31, 2019

Startup advice can be seductive. From motivational quotes to magazine profiles, there’s a persistent narrative that if you follow your passion, log 80 hours a week, and “hustle hard,” you’ll create the next Amazon or Airbnb.

It is possible.

We all know that hard work can produce incredible results. But the prevailing rise-and-grind mythology often pushes founders into business before they’re ready.

Many smart, ambitious people feel pressured to quit their jobs and go all-in. They work around the clock, sacrificing their health and happiness to chase a startup dream.

For every founder who’s battling exhaustion and surviving on protein bars, I’d like to suggest a different path.

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Automation, Business, Employment, Science & Technology News

The Future Of Work: 5 Important Ways Jobs Will Change In The 4th Industrial Revolution

July 29, 2019

5 Ways Work Will Change in the Future

In many respects, the future of work is already here. Amid the headlines exclaiming the predicted loss of jobs due to automation and other changes brought by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and autonomous systems, it’s clear that the way we work and live is transforming. This evolution can be unnerving. Since we know change is inevitable, let’s look at how work will likely change and some ideas for how to prepare for it.

At least 30% of the activities associated with the majority of occupations in the United States could be automated, which includes even knowledge tasks that were previously thought to be safe according to a McKinsey Global Institute report. This echoes what executives see as well and prompted Rick Jensen, Chief Talent Officer at Intuit to say, “The workforce is changing massively.” Here are just a few of the ways:

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Business, Ecological Products, Electric Vehicles, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News

Giant shipper bets big on ending its carbon emissions. Will it pay off ?

July 26, 2019

The Danish company Maersk has been shipping goods around the world since the age of steamships. Now it wants to usher in a new era, with carbon neutral transport.

Maersk — the world’s largest container shipping company — has an astonishing goal. By 2050, the company vows to send goods — everything from electronics to soybeans to sneakers — around the world with zero carbon emissions.

The environmental logic behind such a promise is straightforward: Shipping contributes substantially to global climate change.

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Analysis, Business, Science & Technology News, Shopping

Tata: Most valuable Indian brand in 2019

July 26, 2019

It is not unusual for the Tata group to top brand valuation charts, as it has done several years in a row. But what has come as a surprise, in the 2019 study by UK-based Brand Finance of the nation’s leading 100 brands, is the sharp jump in brand valuation achieved by the salt-to-software business house.

The 2019 list, released exclusively to Business Standard, shows a 37 per cent jump in brand value for the Tata group, to $19.55 billion for 2019, the highest in the top 25. Last year, the group had achieved a brand value of $14.23 billion, which was a jump of nearly nine per cent over the previous year.

“The Tata group’s presence across sectors makes it a pioneering force to reckon with,” says David Haigh, chief executive officer, Brand Finance, about the conglomerate’s performance this year.

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AI, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Science & Technology News

AI and machine learning dominate World Economic Forum’s list of 2019 Technology Pioneers

July 18, 2019

The World Economic Forum today announced its list of 56 companies selected as Technology Pioneers, and this year’s class demonstrates the growing embrace of artificial intelligence and machine learning across a broad range of sectors.

Of those selected, at least 20 companies say they are using AI or machine learning in some fashion to tackle challenges in fields such as advertising technology, smart cities, cleantech, supply chain, manufacturing, cybersecurity, autonomous vehicles, and drones.

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Banking, Bitcoin, Business, facebook, Science & Technology News

Mark Zuckerberg is about to become the head of a Swiss Bank. 3 reasons it should make you think

July 1, 2019

Mark Zuckerberg is about to become the head of a very big bank based in Switzerland. Libra is Facebooks’ new cryptocurrency. Imagine sitting in a room thinking about what else you can sell to your 2.4bn people (including some bots) backed by a $1bn in guarantees from companies as wide as Paypal, Mastercard and Uber. This has the opportunity to severely disrupt existing financial transactions markets but also the deeper psychology of trust of our collective financial systems, collective expectations for what currency can and should do and also our personal relationships. For example, please pay me to socially post positive things about you. Just drop me some Libra.

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