How machine learning and artificially generated images might replace photography as we know it.
When hearing the words ‘AI’, ‘Machine Learning’ or ‘bot’ most people tend to visualize a walking, talking android robot which looks like something out of a Sci-Fi movie and immediately assume about a time far away in the future.
Continue reading… “AI : The future of photography ?”
Uber, Lyft, Postmates, and Deliveroo. These words are now part of our everyday lexicon.
With Lyft and Uber going public, we need to face facts about their business model
The gig economy has changed the world. I find it hard to remember when I didn’t see hundreds of delivery scooters zipping around the city near our office. Nor do I easily recall when it was unusual to see somebody happily getting into an unmarked car driven by someone they didn’t know. From Beijing to London to San Francisco, our cities are bisected 24 hours a day by the journeys of bicycle couriers, delivery mopeds, and taxi drivers.
Continue reading… “The Gig Economy’s unhappy middle class”
Genesis Capital, one of the largest providers of crypto loans, cracked $1 billion in crypto loans in 2018. Despite falling bitcoin prices, the demand for credit in the crypto money market seems higher than ever.
In the fourth quarter of 2018 alone, Genesis, a type of crypto bank, will provide $500 million in loans. As a result, the US company accounts for almost half of its total lending volume in the fourth quarter of 2018; In total $1.1 billion in loans. The market is booming — and after the already south-facing market lost further value in November and December. This emerges from the quarterly report of the company.
Continue reading… “Crypto lending on the rise: Credit volume of Genesis Capitol at over $1 Billion”
Xiaomi’s India shipments fell by 2% over last year, but the Beijing-based company was still the biggest smartphone brand in the country, followed by Samsung Electronics
Chinese brands rule Indian smartphone market with 66% share: Report Chinese brands controlled a record 66% of Indian smartphone market in the first quarter, led by Xiaomi, a report showed, with volumes rising 20% on the back of popularity for brands like Vivo, RealMe and Oppo.
Xiaomi’s India shipments fell by 2% over last year, but the Beijing-based company was still the biggest smartphone brand in the country, followed by Samsung Electronics, according to Hong-Kong based Counterpoint Research.
Continue reading… “Chinese brands rule Indian smartphone market with 66% share: Report”
What Do US Cord Cutters Miss About Cable/Satellite TV? (% of respondents, March 2019)
At a time when the number of cord-cutters continues to climb, a new report indicates that most folks who ditched their cable TV service don’t miss anything about it.
In a March survey of over-the-top (OTT) video users by programmatic platform OpenX and analytics firm The Harris Poll, 52% of 528 cord-cutters said they don’t miss anything about cable or satellite TV. Live events, sports and news were the programs they missed most.
“Cord-cutters are reacting to the fact that they do not like being forced to pay for channels they do not watch—and they do not like being restricted by device, time or place to access their programs,” said Dallas Lawrence, chief communications and brand officer at OpenX.
Continue reading… “Most cord-cutters aren’t missing cable TV”
Princeton commencement, 1909. Photo: Paul Thompson/FPG/Getty Images
In 1869, at Harvard, Charles Eliot invented the college major as we know it — each student would be channeled into a specialized area of study, and move on to a stable, lifelong job.
The big picture: A century and a half later, American colleges pump out some 4.5 million new bachelor’s degrees every year, but the context — the present and future of work — has changed entirely.
Continue reading… “Colleges are upending majors”
Hembert Figueroa just wanted a taco.
So he was surprised to learn the dollar bills in his pocket were no good at Dos Toros Taqueria in Manhattan, one of a small but growing number of establishments across the U.S. where customers can only pay by card or smartphone.
Cash-free stores are generating a backlash among some activists and liberal-leaning policymakers who say the practice discriminates against people like Figueroa, who either lack bank accounts or rely on cash for many transactions.
Continue reading… “As cashless stores grow, so does the backlash”
A mother uses CBD to treat her son’s seizures. A veteran hopes it will help her wean off opioids. A dietitian says it helps her sleep through the night. Even a pet owner uses it to calm his anxious Saint Bernard. These are just some of the estimated 64 million Americans who have tried CBD, or cannabidiol, in the past 24 months, according to a January 2019 nationally representative Consumer Reports survey of more than 4,000 Americans.
The survey found that more than a quarter of people in the U.S. say they’ve tried CBD—a compound in marijuana and hemp that doesn’t get you “high”—for a slew of mental and physical reasons. One out of 7 of those people said they use it every day.
Continue reading… “CBD goes mainstream”
Influencers are flocking to a surprising new kind of social media
350+ influencers with a collective audience of 3.5 billion people are flocking to a platform called Escapex, which gives them their own apps. It’s part of the next wave of social media focused on smaller, more private groups.
Last week, actor Jeremy Renner posted a time-lapse video of himself trying on different outfits in front of the mirror. “Suiting up for the Avengers press tour,” he wrote. “What are you wearing?” More than 2,000 people commented on the post (some offered outfit tips, but many agreed he looked better without a shirt). Others said good luck, or jovially wished everyone a happy Friday.
None of this was happening on Instagram, but on Renner’s own app, where his most die-hard fans gather to gush about their favorite actor. They do more than just comment on Renner’s photos, videos, and give-away contests. They also post their own images in a “fan feed”–a quick scroll reveals a woman’s before-and-after haircut, a call for recommendations for a trip to L.A., and a shot of tomato soup and parmesan-crusted chicken with bacon, which a fan had made from another fan’s cookbook.
Continue reading… “Influencers are flocking to a surprising new kind of social media”
A child’s first cell phone is increasingly becoming an earlier, and pricier, decision for parents.
While each family has its own decision to make on when the appropriate time is for their child to get their first device, Verizon is hoping a new plan will make the choice easier on the financial side of things with its new “Just Kids” plan.
The new plan, available starting Thursday, includes 5GB of 4G LTE data plus unlimited talk and text to 20 contacts pre-approved by the parents. Like other recent Verizon plans, there are no overage fees if the child goes beyond the allotted data, with the speeds simply slowed down instead.
Continue reading… “Verizon’s new ‘Just Kids’ plan aims to become your child’s first smartphone plan”
Details: Breaking with traditional schooling, these new models emphasize capabilities over knowledge — with extra weight on interpersonal skills that appear likely to become ever more valuable.
In high schools across the U.S., a quiet movement is underway to better prepare students for a hazy new future of work in which graduates will vie for fast-changing jobs being transformed by increasingly capable machines.
The big picture: No one really knows what future jobs will look like or the skills that will be necessary to carry them out. But researchers and companies alike widely believe that, as a start, interpersonal and management skills will differentiate humans from machines.
High schoolers are often being taught skills that will soon be handed over to machines, and they’re missing out on more valuable ones.
Continue reading… “A movement to prepare students for the future of work”
CSIRO’s Vertebrate Pest Detect-and-Deter (VPDaD) device
The development of IoT for agriculture is still in its early stages, but it looks promising as more farmers are putting these technologies to work.
Australian agriculture has historically been defined by long droughts and irregular rainfall. For farmers, these harsh conditions leave small margins for error, meaning that gruelling work on the paddock does not necessarily translate to healthy stock or strong crop harvests.
One way that farmers have adapted to these conditions is the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensors. But in comparison to other sectors, farmers have been slow to adopt these technologies due to concerns surrounding the cost of implementation and ongoing service—particularly when there is no immediate value received for certain IoT technologies, which can sometimes take several years of accumulating data before it shows its value.
Continue reading… “How IoT is being used for Australian agriculture in 2019”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.