Many new AI applications are formulaic.
Some Everyday Task + AI = AI doing that task being performed as good or better than a human.
Reading medical images, analyzing traffic patterns, or even writing up stories about quarterly earnings reports (Wall street journal uses AI for this). This gives a temporary competitive advantage, but it will not last long.
But the exciting new applications are when AI is combined with other new technologies or bridges between fields.
For example, using blockchain and AI to re-engineer supply chain tracing and payment systems (https://www.bext360.com/). Or Use AIs to train neural nets that…
A reporter recently asked me about how people are “using cashless systems like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cryptocurrency.” It caused me to remember how many people don’t understand how different crypto is and how “same” Apple Pay is.
Apple pay, google pay, and the like are central systems with central processing, tracking payments, vendors, and customers and require the user to access the banking system to participate. Those who can’t access the banking system can’t use these systems (difficulties arise if you don’t have a permanent address, are poor, or were born in the wrong country (Iran, Syria, etc.))…
On March 11th of 2020, I left a the end of my MBA project management class on the University of Missouri campus, and I have not been in a classroom since. The spring semester was a hail-Mary to continue the semester, with both students and professors rising to the challenge.
A generalist myself, I found a lot to like about this book. However, there may be some confirmation bias in thinking that everything he writes about a generalist’s power is brilliant. None the less, he provides several excellent examples about why generalists often see connections that specialists miss.
And don’t think that it is one way or the other, you are not always a generalist or confined to being a specialist. You may be a generalist in certain areas and a specialist and others. Or even better, you may be a generalist who has a few areas of specialty and/or…
Unlike Smil’s book, in The New Map, there are many interesting stories to carry the reader forward, and I found it easy to read despite the geopolitical details (maps are included!). Yegin begins with the shale oil revolution in the US and then moves back and forth in time to describe the current energy landscape and how countries get their energy (or export it). The New Map is a fascinating book, and until I read this book, I did not understand the scope of issues around energy and climate change. …
Energy and Civilization was one of the books recommended by Bill Gates last year. After watching “Bill’s Brain,” which included an episode on energy and climate, I decided it was worth reading. Professor Smil has made a career out of studying energy and growth and has authored many books on these subjects.
Energy and Civilization provides a detailed description of the history of energy and human civilization back to the times when hunter-gatherer societies made stone tools. He looks at the relative advantages of different tools, comparing the energy efficiency of various designs. Smil explores the basics (moving water, harnessing…
Green Lights is an exciting snack of a read. This autobiographical tale is well written and funny/crazy. It will answer a lot of the questions you didn’t know you had. Like: Who has a wet dream and sees it as a sign to buy a one-way ticket to Africa the next morning? Matthew Fucking McConaughey, that’s who!
In the printed book, McConaughey includes scans of his journals, poems, scribbles, etc. None of these additions seemed to engage me. So I skipped them. But in the main text, he talks about his life and his philosophy on various challenges the world…
Related to blacklight is a new search engine, Neeva. Yes, I said search engine. There is more to the world than just Google and Bing! Neeva improves on search in several ways, but its primary selling point is privacy. It does not track you as you search; they don’t sell ads and block tracking pixels and cookies.
When Niva is eventually released, there will be a fee associated with it. …
I have been on a bit of a podcast tear lately, and 99% of the time, I was interviewed by a host for 45 minutes to an hour, who then did a bit of editing and posted the podcast using the RSS generator of their choice (or never published, but that is another story).
But on one of the podcasts, I never met the host!
CallumConnects is a “micro-podcast” that comes out every single day. Only two to four minutes long it aims to provide “your daily dose of wholesome entrepreneurial inspiration.” …
I love this recent tweet from Viorica Marian
And if you teach undergraduate students, then you probably love it too.
But if you can’t move your class time from 8am, then here is a little trick you can use to save the lives of your students’ distant relatives.
Tokens.
Here is how it works.
In my class, late assignments or make ups are not allowed. If you miss the deadline or are not present to complete an in-class quiz or assignment, a score of zero is recorded.
However, I give each student two “tokens” at the beginning of the semester…
