Autonomize

autonomize

This paper is under CC 4.0 license. available on arxiv : Authors (1) Linda Pigureddu, University of Turin, Italy, 332079@edu.unito.it; (2) Cristina Gena, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Turin, Italy, cristina.gena@unito.it. Table of Links Introduction The Project Memes Conclusion and References CONCLUSION The analysis of the interactions and dialogues that took place during the therapeutic laboratory for autonomies endorsed with the inclusion of the Pepper robot provided an interesting perspective on the communication dynamics of children in the lab. The results obtained showed the effectiveness of the robot in promoting autonomy and functional acquisition, demonstrating that the therapeutic method based on assistive robotics is a valuable resource to support the rehabilitation needs of communication and social skills of autistic children. The analysis highlights new possibilities for their engagement and active participation as a co-designer, as we already experienced in the past with neuro-typical children [19], representing an innovative opportunity to promote the development and wellness of autistic people and opening to new perspectives for therapeutic intervention more aware of the needs of autistic minds. In conclusion, this paper highlights the need to provide the robot with the ability of adapt to the children’s peculiarity and features and sharing her/his vocabulary, especially by recognizing and using memes during interactions, to inspire greater trust in children and allowing the use of common slang, already in use with classmates, allowing them to consider Pepper a peer and effectively insert it in the role of mediator. In addition, it would allow children to use a simplified type of communication during meetings to compensate for the typical communication deficits associated with autism spectrum disorders. In the future we will work in this directions (co-design, user’s adaptations, using and recognizing memes during children-robot communication) having the robot able to communicate and express adapting to user tastes and preferences and and try again to field a real-world evaluation that takes into account the effectiveness of different levels of user adaptation [23]. REFERENCE [1] M. Biondi e M. Maj, DSM-5: diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: text revision, 5. ed. Milano: Raffaello Cortina. [2] E. Hollander, R. Hagerman, e C. Ferretti, Textbook of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Second Edition. American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 2022. [3] ISS - Istituto superiore di sanità, «Osservatorio Nazionale Autismo», OssNA. https://osservatorionazionaleautismo.iss.it [4] P. Pennisi et al., «Autism and social robotics: A systematic review», Autism Research, vol. 9, fasc. 2, pp. 165–183, 2016, doi: 10.1002/aur.1527. [5] S. Shamsuddin, H. Yussof, S. Mohamed, e F. A. Hanapiah, «Design and Ethical Concerns in Robotic Adjunct Therapy Protocols for Children with Autism», Procedia Computer Science, vol. 42, pp. 9–16, gen. 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2014.11.027. [6] K. Dautenhahn e I. Werry, «Towards Interactive Robots in Autism Therapy: Background, Motivation and Challenges», Pragmatics & Cognition, vol. 12, pp. 1–35, giu. 2004, doi: 10.1075/pc.12.1.03dau. [7] C. Li, Q. Jia, e Y. Feng, «Human-Robot Interactoin Design for Robot-Assisted Intervention for Children with Autism Based on E-S Theory», in 2016 8th International Conference on Intelligent Human-Machine Systems and Cybernetics (IHMSC), Hangzhou, China: IEEE, ago. 2016, pp. 320–324. doi: 10.1109/IHMSC.2016.103. [8] A. Peca et al., «Robot Enhanced Therapy for Children with Autism Disorders: Measuring Ethical Acceptability», IEEE Technol. Soc. Mag., vol. 35, fasc. 2, pp. 54–66, giu. 2016, doi: 10.1109/MTS.2016.2554701. [9] B. Robins, K. Dautenhahn, e J. Dubowski, «Does appearance matter in the interaction of children with autism with a humanoid robot?», IS, vol. 7, fasc. 3, pp. 479–512, nov. 2006, doi:10.1075/is.7.3.16rob. [10] E. S. Kim, «Robots for social skills therapy in autism: evidence and designs toward clinical utility», 2013, doi: 10.13140/2.1.3038.2083. [11] «Autismo», Neuraxpharm Italia. https://www.neuraxpharm.com/it/disordini/autismo [12] L. Hull, K. V. Petrides, e W. Mandy, «The Female Autism Phenotype and Camouflaging: a Narrative Review», Rev J Autism Dev Disord, vol. 7, fasc. 4, pp. 306–317, dic. 2020, doi: 10.1007/s40489-020-00197-9. [13] D. Cohen et al., «NAO, a humanoid robot as a therapeutic mediator for young people with autism». [14] Cristina Gena, Claudio Mattutino, Andrea Maieli, Elisabetta Miraglio, Giulia Ricciardiello, Rossana Damiano, Alessandro Mazzei: Autistic Children's Mental Model of an Humanoid Robot. UMAP (Adjunct Publication) 2021: 128-129 [15] Rossana Damiano, Cristina Gena, Andrea Maieli, Claudio Mattutino, Alessandro Mazzei, Elisabetta Miraglio, Giulia Ricciardiello: UX Personas for Defining Robot's Character and Personality 213-216. IUI Workshops 2022: 213-216. [16] Cristina Gena, Claudio Mattutino, Stefania Brighenti, Andrea Meirone, Francesco Petriglia, Loredana Mazzotta, Federica Liscio, Matteo Nazzario, Valeria Ricci, Camilla Quarato, Cesare Pecone, Giuseppe Piccinni: et al., Sugar, Salt & Pepper - Humanoid robotics for autism, in Joint Proceedings of the ACM IUI 2021 Workshops co-located with 26th ACM Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (ACM IUI 2021), College Station, United States, April 13-17, 2021, D. Glowacka e V. R. Krishnamurthy, A c. di, in CEUR Workshop Proceedings, vol. 2903. CEUR-WS.org, 2021. [17] Cristina Gena, Rossana Damiano, Claudio Mattutino, Alessandro Mazzei, Andrea Meirone, Loredana Mazzotta, Matteo Nazzario, Valeria Ricci, Stefania Brighenti, Federica Liscio, Francesco Petriglia: Preliminary results of a therapeutic lab for promoting autonomies in autistic children. arXiv, doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2305.02982. [18] B. C. Carbo, «The Use of Social Stories with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders», University of Delaware ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, Newark, DE, 2005. [Online]. Disponibile su: https://udspace.udel.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/cd5e8850-e57c-41d2-a7b4ac5e25a4b659/content [19] V. Cietto, C. Gena, I. Lombardi, C. Mattutino and C. Vaudano, "Co-designing with kids an educational robot," 2018 IEEE Workshop on Advanced Robotics and its Social Impacts (ARSO), Genova, Italy, 2018, pp. 139-140, doi: 10.1109/ARSO.2018.8625810. [20] A. Mousa, «Sherry Turkle, Reclaiming Conversation. The Power of Talk in a Digital Age», Questions de communication, fasc. 34, Art. fasc. 34, dic. 2018, doi:10.4000/questionsdecommunication.16891. [21] H.-M. Chiang e M. Carter, «Spontaneity of Communication in Individuals with Autism», J Autism Dev Disord, vol. 38, fasc. 4, pp. 693–705, apr. 2008, doi: 10.1007/s10803-007-0436-7. [22] Gena, C., Cena, F., Vernero, F., Grillo, P. The evaluation of a social adaptive website for cultural events. User Model User-Adap Inter 23, 89–137 (2013) https://doi.org/10.1007/s11257-012-9129-9 [23] Gena, Cristina, and Ilaria Torre. "The importance of adaptivity to provide onboard services: A preliminary evaluation of an adaptive tourist information service onboard vehicles." Applied Artificial Intelligence 18.6 (2004): 549-580.

The Power of Memes: The Pepper Robot as a Communicative Aid for Autistic Children - Conclusion

This paper is under CC 4.0 license. available on arxiv Authors: (1) Linda Pigureddu, University of Turin, Italy, 332079@edu.unito.it; (2) Cristina Gena, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Turin, Italy, cristina.gena@unito.it. Table of Links Introduction The Project Memes Conclusion and References THE PROJECT The laboratory Pepper was placed, in the role of mediator and dialogue partner, within the therapeutic laboratory[2] to promote autonomy and functional acquisition in autistic children with low support needs (level 1 support according to DSM-5 [1]). During the laboratory, conducted between the end of February 2021 and the beginning of June 2021, the exchanges, and interactions between autistic children in rehabilitation settings were explored, supported by the robot Pepper aiming to create an environment that would stimulate the development of social and communication skills, as well as strengthen the acquisition of strategies and autonomies related to daily activities, such as snack preparation [14]–[17]. Four autistic children with low support needs (level 1 support), aged 11 to 14 years, participated in the lab. During the lab sessions, the children had the opportunity to interact both directly with the robot and to participate in group activities, guided and coordinated by Pepper itself and the specialized operators, including educators, speech therapists, and psychologists [14]–[17]. The workshop sessions (16 in total), which were held weekly with a duration of two hours each, were recorded via a fixed camera, in addition to Pepper's 2D cameras (forehead camera and tablet camera), to allow post-hoc analysis to be conducted. During the meetings, two trainee students filled out evaluation forms provided by the psychotherapists, noting the progress of the sessions in a diary. These notes were later reworked to make reports, shared within the working group, reflecting the children's evolving behavior during their interactions with the robot [14]–[17]. To ensure the children's privacy, the "PepperForAutism" application was implemented in the robot during data collection, which consists of three main modules (Android app, web platform and backend) integrated into Jumple SRL's Pyramid platform. This system enabled the Pepper robot to uniquely identify the child with whom it was interacting, allowing data to be collected anonymously through association with a random ID known only to authorized individuals [14]–[17]. 1.1. The lab's sessions in details The sessions, lasting about two hours, were conducted by one or two specialized operators (educators, speech therapists, psychologists, etc.) assisted by two or three trainees. These were held in a room furnished with table and chairs and equipped with the tools necessary to carry out the activities, inside an apartment located in the center of Turin, made available by the Paideia Foundation also equipped with a bathroom, living room and kitchen. During the sessions, each child was given the opportunity to interact directly with Pepper and perform the activities planned for the group through the directions provided by the robot, with the help of the specialized operators and in a real context setting to leverage the benefit of a real-world evaluation [23]. Each session was phased and was conducted according to the following structure: 1. Welcome: children were made to sit in the apartment and welcomed by the therapists and the robot who, at the beginning of each session, provided directions on how to prepare to participate in the workshop. 2. First social time: dialogue session with the robot on a pre-established topic of interest (e.g., music, video games, etc.). The conversation is designed to be initialized by both the children and the robot. In the first case, "Getting Acquainted", the children would stand in front of the robot and, after waiting for it to catch their presence, proceed to ask a question of any sort. In the second case, identified as "Making Friends," Pepper would call the children one at a time to suggest a topic of conversation to each, according to a script updated weekly, in the expectation of engaging the other participants in a group conversation. 3. Development of practical skills (snack preparation and/or homework execution): Pepper played the role of activity coordinator, offering snack preparation instructions and explanatory videos displayed on the built-in tablet, in to guide the children in performing the task, with the therapists ready to intervene if needed. Starting from the 11th meeting, this phase was enriched by the inclusion of the activity of doing school homework. The children, who had been previously warned about the need to come equipped with their own school supplies, were asked to consult their journal to select a subject whose homework they wished to complete with the assistance of Pepper, who, after identifying a range of topics, proceeded by providing information on what materials were necessary or optional to proceed effectively with the task they chose. Again, the use of explanatory videos was provided. 4. Second social moment: post snack (or post homework) dialogue. The conversation is guided in the mode ("Moment of Knowledge" or "Making Friends") not explored in the First Social Moment. 5. Final Feedback: Before ending the session with greetings, Pepper asks the children to give their opinions about the meeting. In this phase, children were asked to stand in front of the robot and state their mood, choosing from the illustrated faces on the integrated tablet suitable for representing sadness, neutrality, and happiness. Because the workshop took place during a period characterized by social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, children were required to wear a clear visor as an alternative to the surgical mask so that Pepper could take a picture, which was later used by the trainees to assess the consistency of the emotion indicated by the child with his or her facial expressions and the mood inferred by the robot [16]. 1.2. Welcome At the beginning of each meeting, Pepper welcomed the children and provided them with instructions for getting ready for and participating in the lab. These instructions included descriptive phrases and directives similar to those found in social stories, with the purpose of guiding and supporting the children during the activities. This phase is the one that produced the most noticeably positive results. Although Pepper offered to repeat the welcome directions each time, the children demonstrated that they remembered from one encounter to the next the rules of the lab and were able to correctly follow the instructions to take off their shoes and coats and to sanitize their hands before entering the lab, while still benefiting from the psychologist's help when necessary [17]. Starting therapeutic sessions in this way is both functional for the organizational and managerial purposes of the lab itself, and in line with the natural inclination of autistic minds to seek order and behavioral patterns that facilitate schematization of routines, predictability of events, and, in general, repetition [1]. This choice offers participants a sensitive approach toward the peculiarities of their minds, allowing them to feel immediately at ease, making it easier to introduce the activities planned for the day, and encourages children to be genuine and spontaneous, immediately comforting them by implicitly declaring that they are entering a safe environment, designed specifically to support and stimulate their minds, with no prejudice about their frailties. 1.3. Practical skills training At this stage, the robot is assigned to coordinate the activity of snack preparation, offering snacks with recipes that were from time to time more and more complex, listing ingredients, encouraging children to get organized, providing guidance on the procedures both verbally and using pictures, animations and demonstration videos played on the built-in tablet, and giving children the opportunity to review the steps if necessary. During this activity, provision was made for Pepper to enter Waiting Mode, both to allow the children time to carry out the assignments and the opportunity for the group to spontaneously chat during the meal. On most occasions, the children took advantage of this time to share their suggestion for questions to ask Pepper during the conversational moments, and about activities and topics they would like to cover and proposal to improve the robot’s dialogue structure to make it more friendly and pleasant to talk with. This was also because the time spent with Pepper was perceived as valuable, and the children were inclined to focus on it even when they were not communicating with it directly since they felt empowered with the responsibility and opportunity to contribute to the improvement of the robot. The snack time produced good results and, in addition to being evidently stimulating for the young participants, was also one of their favorite moments; in fact, in most of the encounters they asked to start the lab session with this activity. The children showed appreciation for Pepper's help and, from the very beginning, good levels of autonomy, although the excitement associated with this time often affected the ability to maintain high concentration levels, as indicated by the scores given by the operatives [17]. Beginning in the eleventh meeting, the school homework activity was introduced, in which Pepper offered the children directions on what tools would be needed and tricks for doing the task they chose, always accompanying the verbal instructions with multimedia elements played on the integrated tablet when needed [17]. Regarding this phase, there was not sufficient data collected to assess its effectiveness, but it is still possible to consider the direct feedback from the children, who repeatedly and openly stated that they did not want to «waste» their time in the lab with ordinary activities, suggesting alternative skill-building activities (e.g., chemistry or robotics experiments), while only on one occasion one child did say that he appreciated the time devoted to doing homework, as it allowed him to associate the lab with the environment more familiar to him, of school. 1.4. Conversations During the dialogue moments, the children were directly asked whether they wanted to "get acquainted" or "make friends" with the robot. In the former, they were given the opportunity to ask questions of their interest directly to Pepper, while in the latter, it was Pepper who asked them questions about their interests so as to encourage a collective conversation on the topic. Unfortunately, both modes did not produce satisfactory results, as they were too far removed from the human conversational style [20], consisting of simple repartee, without the possibility of in depth or direct conversation development with the robot, due to the lack of an open conversational system that would allow the robot to use a communicative style more similar to natural language [17]. Giving children the opportunity to ask questions to the robot at a time when it lacked the ability to draw on ontologies to respond but had a dialogue system based on the manual and weekly update of its script, has produced various difficulties during the conversational moments. apart from not taking into account the difficulty of autistic people in initializing conversations [21], has produced several situations of misunderstanding, in which the robot, for technical difficulties (e.g. background noise, speech defects, etc.) or the absence of the input provided by the child within its script, it found itself unable to provide a coherent and satisfactory response [17]. After few interactions, the children began to ask themselves about Pepper with derisive attitude, deliberately asking nonsensical questions attempting to get funny answers or to evaluate how far they could go before sending cause a malfunction. An example of mocking interaction that has produced a lot of hilarity and has been revived during several meetings is related to the understanding by the children that pronounce at the beginning of the question the keywords «have you ever been in...» allowed access to the standard answer: «no, but I would like to visit the whole world», even though the question was not completed with a real location, prompting participants to ask if Pepper had ever visited the Moon, heaven or the land of the stupidity. As per the goal of stimulating the social interaction between the participants, the technical difficulties that emerged during this phase encouraged the children's curiosity about the robot, encouraging collective discussion about how Pepper works and brainstorming suggestions for improvements to make it a more enjoyable conversation partner. On the other hand, the analysis of these phases, despite not having produced satisfactory therapeutic results, is extremely interesting to conduct an evaluation of interactions aimed at improving the dialogue system, pointing out that, even before technical problems, communication with the robot is deficient because it is not fluent in the slang used by children, compromising its position as a mediator because it is unable to act as an interpreter between children and specialized adults working in the laboratory. [2] Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the bioethical committee of the University of Turin, with approval number: 0664572.

The Power of Memes: The Pepper Robot as a Communicative Aid for Autistic Children - The Project

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE LIBIDO. A POSSIBLE SOURCE OF PRIMITIVE HUMAN DISCOVERIES

The metaverse is quite possibly the future of the internet. To help our readers learn more about it, we've started this metaverse interview series. These are the questions we've compiled to ask experts in blockchain, DAOs, NFTs, and game development, within the HackerNoon community. The series is intended for tech professionals to contribute their insights about the current state and the future of the metaverse. If you too would like to start contributing to Hacker Noon, you can do so here. If you also want to publish your thoughts about the metaverse, answer the template here. HackerNoon Reporter: So let’s start! First, tell us a bit about yourself. For example, name, profession, and personal interests. My name is Matthew Proffitt. I’m a 26-year old, six-figure freelance consultant, financial analyst (certified FMVA), and content marketer that has helped more than 30 companies secure funding—over $500 million altogether since 2017. I specialize in ESG, emerging tech, and disruptive tech. Some days I type upward of 1500/2000 words per hour (without dictating) and some days, my ADHD gets the best of me, so I go down the dopamine rabbit holes and type like 50 words per hour. Thankfully, I get paid for ideas and insights in addition to content. I enjoy gaming, photography, reading, writing, listening to, and recently making music. I don’t have any music published yet, but I’ve been dabbling for about a year now. I’ve served as a thought-leader “behind the curtain” in more than 20 industries including Web 3.0, cloud computing, drones, cybersecurity, and management consulting. Please sum up what the metaverse is in 1 to two paragraphs. The metaverse is, essentially the next step in the human experience. Millennials have been a fortunate generation in many ways. We’ve seen the transition from AOL (before my time, haha.) to Web 2.0 and the wonders that HTML, among other elements, has brought. We saw the birth of technology like Augmented Reality and Quantum Computing IRL. (There are QCs available to businesses now—we live in the future.) Now, the metaverse is becoming a sovereign space for creators and consumers. It’s a place where people can go to build things that they own. It’s impossible to own a forgery of an NFT, for example. Someone can own the same image, even identical image attributes, but never a fake NFT, something people seem to forget when calling “theft” and other (still offensive) actions out. At a high level, the metaverse is a fusion of infrastructure, technology, experience, identity, and proof of ownership. Are you currently, directly or indirectly, working on building a metaverse? I support Web 3.0 and metaverse businesses alongside other clients. I’ve collaborated with a few NFT projects for ideation on things like world-building and story crafting, marketing, and many other things. I’m indirectly working on building in the metaverse. I attended NFT-focused event on Feb. 23rd, 2022. It was hosted , a non-profit network that supports underdog entrepreneurs in the Appalachian Highlands. I also just finished a grant-related PR for a Web 3.0 client that may prove infrastructural in the months and years to come. FoundersForge In your opinion, is the metaverse inevitable, or is it just another passing trending tech topic that'll lose hype? There’s no avoiding it any more than there was avoiding bitcoin. It will definitely lose hype—by nature, hype is meant to fade. The Gartner “ ” is a common reference for people seeking to learn which stage of adoption a given type of technology is in. Technology Hype Cycle Why is the metaverse such a revolutionary concept? The metaverse is revolutionary because there has never been a phase in human history that we could bring so many disruptive forces together at once. I would go so far as to say that . Once we find effective means to combine manufacturing, logistics, machine vision, , and automation, and all formats of AI/ML into the mix, I don’t think anyone can see where we will end up. To me, the metaverse is a summary of technological progress to date. we are building the singularity today quantum computing autonomization To sum it up, It’s the . beginning of the next chapter in human history What can people build in the metaverse that we can't build on the Internet, or in virtual reality today? What limitations of our current technology does the metaverse free us from? Simply put, the metaverse doesn’t necessarily free us from technological limitations by existing. It does, however, open new potential avenues of progress. Things like immersive AR/VR are already here—I’ve spent a fair bit of time exploring through my Quest 2, but I know I’m just scratching the surface. The most important thing that I see people building in the metaverse is experience. We’re now building experiences based on things that we own. It’s like when you’re playing a game—you farm for loot, grind away hours of your life, and you own the items you get, right? Not in Web 2.0—if a developer shuts their game down, you’ve got nothing. Seeing games like (This link will take you to the Darkwinds Discord server) that lost their footing (and developers) can still exist after losing the founding team—held by a community—it’s exhilarating. Darkwinds How are the metaverse and blockchain technology related? Can we build a metaverse without blockchain tech? This depends on how you relate concepts that underpin these concepts. Blockchain is, effectively, to the metaverse what seconds, minutes, and hours are to this portion of reality. If we compare block time against an average of 10 minutes ($BTC), we’re just converting from minutes into block time. So as far as I’m concerned, no. they’re inextricably linked—inseparable. History is written by the victors —Winston Churchill If you apply this concept to blockchain, it holds true, no matter what method we use to reach consensus. Effectively, there’s a multiverse of orphaned, rejected, and abandoned blocks—each containing a different shard of reality—a timeline of its own. The metaverse as I see it, cannot exist without blockchain—distributed consensus and an immutable ledger of history. How quickly do you think the metaverse will be developed? How much can we expect metaverse tech to grow in the next 5 to 10 years? Given recent changes in public markets and available technology, I expect to see massive growth. In particular infrastructure and quality of life enhancements, such as the Hyundai//IonQ partnership for lithium battery research. Other advancements have been made, with respect to silicon-based quantum computing components and even quantum logic gates. Further, investments from the private sector and media (looking at you, Zuckerburg and Meta) have drastically accelerated public sector awareness of the concept. It’s kind of forcing people to accept the impending advancements. I’ll take a second to split out various tech components of the modern metaverse and what/how I expect to see progress. I’m only going to touch on areas where I’ve provided thought-leadership, whether as a byline or as a ghostwriter—blogs, eBooks, whitepapers, etc. Quantum computing: We will continue to see growth in commercial-grade quantum computers, with widely-respected companies like placing by 2028. Some of the other industry leaders, like (quantum software development.) For some framing, quantum-driven Natural Language Processing (QNLP) was able to in 2020. IonQ 1000+ qubit quantum computers on the horizon Classiq accommodate both grammar AND meaning for words and sentences There’s also been recent progress in quantum networking and quantum encryption. the longest range free space network that I’ve heard of to date employs quantum entanglement to a satellite over 1,200km away. There is already a as well, as of 2021. multinode quantum network A paper published by in Nov. 2021 reported that Google researchers, in collaboration with Stanford, had successfully created time crystals—quantum particle systems that organize themselves into a periodic pattern of motion that is rather than in space. Simply put, it’s , a new category of phases of matter altogether. Nature periodic in time simultaneously stable and always changing Gaming: I’ve been into gaming for over a decade—including co-founding two esports organizations to promote mental well-being and help address some of the toxicity underpinning the gaming and eSports communities. When I started them, I ended up taking on more than I could handle, so despite strong (Top 10 out of over 90 teams) Amateur placements at events like NJROD: King of The Couch (a Halo and Call of Duty-focused event at the time), national placements for Magic the Gathering, and a host of other teams, such as CS:GO and Hearthstone, we decided to shutter the ventures. Blockchain/Crypto/Web 3.0: We will continue to see new and exciting projects in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) space in addition to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and expansions upon Peer-to-Peer (P2P) finance elements, such as insurance. Flash loans were an exciting topic in 2021 for things like arbitrage, where your potential losses were able to be mitigated. One comical example was an individual —but ultimately paying only 0.2 $ETH (the cost of gas). buying their own CryptoPunk for $500 million Distributed Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)—I still remember when the Ethereum DAO was hacked in like 2017. The potential for benefit here is crazy, increased by an order of magnitude, at least, if combined with the other tech mentioned in this interview. DAOs can resolve nearly all of the G (governance-related) concerns in the ESG space if we utilize it properly over the next few decades. It’s not a silver bullet, however. Things like “Oracles” that onboard real-world data onto blockchains are just one key component of realizing the full potential of DAOs. I’ve seen a lot of discussion around stablecoins (such as , a former client of mine) and liquidity mining (such as Aave and curve), or pooling funds and letting someone else invest them—also known as “Yield Farming” between 2020 and 2021. There’s been some exciting progress there. Ultimately, you should only ever invest what you can afford to lose, however. Nothing is free—risk is an intangible currency all its own, you pay the risk upfront when you exchange value in any format. Everex Global Musicians like “Lil Bubble” have also made some meme-worthy songs, like this one about yield farming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42pUCIjC6ks And this one about DeFi as an overarching concept: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEs1Ezk9htU There has been a lot of mainstream visibility over the last couple of years, in particular as institutions like Goldman Sachs have , so much so that a wave of new scandals regarding governing-body personnel, such as Federal Reserve (FED) staff have incited sweeping sanctions on stock and crypto trading restrictions for FED personnel, including: begun investing funds into crypto Officials must provide 45-day non-retractable notice for transactions, receive pre-approval for purchases and sales and hold investments for at least one year Transactions will be prohibited during periods of heightened financial market stress ( ) Fortune.com Mobile processing: Qualcomm, Google, Apple, NXP Semiconductors, Samsung, and Ericsson are major mobile processing unit producers. Qualcomm Snapdragon, Google “Tensor”, Ericsson “NovaThor”, and other units have proven capable of impressive performance in a very small form factor. The Oculus Quest 2, as an example to kinda bring things back around to the metaverse, uses the Qualcomm XR2 mobile processing chipset (a variant of the Snapdragon 865 chipset that’s found in higher-end phones like the S20 Ultra from Samsung. It also uses the Adreno 650 graphics processor (GPU) from Qualcomm. It’s the first standalone VR headset to cross into “trillion floating-point operations per second” (Teraflops) territory. For comparison, a PS5 is capable of 10.3 Teraflops. That’s really exciting because the Quest 2 uses only about 5W of power for its mobile processor (CPU), whereas a PS5 uses a Zen-2 based custom processor. For all of its system operations, it uses 200W during gaming and purportedly as much as 90W just for watching Netflix. ( ) Note: These are two different sets of measurements showing the scale of difference—not a direct “apple and apple” comparison Energy Efficiency/ESG: We’re starting to see some crazy stuff here. There’s an AI that can control plasma now, by itself. It can even control the shape of the plasma. This may mean huge things for the safety and efficiency of nuclear power in the not-so-distant future. I’ve been really excited about this since I ghostwrote an article on Tokamak nuclear reactors, it was initially in 2017. I cannot link my article because it was ghostwritten, but we’re seeing really exciting stuff these days. inspired by this release from Tokamak Energy That doesn’t even begin to summarize it, though. I had a conversation with someone regarding a product that could work to balance carbon footprints and maybe even work to convert some of our waste products (like carbon dioxide, etc.) into energy—they were looking to raise funds, but we ultimately drifted apart before agreeing on a deal. Other things are under study and research here, like advanced air filtration (some are exploring air filtration to resolve pollution issues and aid in the reduction of climate change factors.) Tesla, of course, is making news with their (very) recent switch to (Lithium Iron Phosphate, specifically) for their standard-range vehicles. These are the , according to Power-Sonic, a battery manufacturer. producing Iron-based batteries safest lithium batteries that you can buy In conjunction with a multi-billion dollar initiative by the US Department of Energy, this may mean that the lower range is a far lesser concern. Now, when we are able to deploy stable nuclear reactors, we will quickly reach a tipping point wherein electric energy is far more sustainable than fossil fuels. If you think about it, your gas tank is basically just a (refillable) chemical potential battery. Some lead-based batteries last as long as 20 years, far longer than your current average car lifespan. Cybersecurity: There have been countless hacks over the last few years, including OpenSea, which has been a controversial compromise. People need to be aware that emails may be sent using HTML, also known as a “Deep Fake” email. Sites like allow users to send emails . Deadfake has begun imposing a footer at the bottom of emails sent from their service and uses trackable means in case of criminal activity, in order to prevent situations like this, whether related to it or not. Deadfake From anyone as a visibly authentic email address Security deserves an additional mention here as well—the OpenSea hack reminded me of the in 2017 (I ) which was worth 150,000ETH (only $30 million at the time ($220), is equivalent to over $412 million at a modern ETH price of $2,750) Ethereum Parity wallet breach covered the event here Since the SolarWinds attack a couple of years ago, businesses have realized that simply unit testing the components and requisites of software isn’t sufficient. Companies like ReversingLabs have developed solutions for whole-picture software testing, before a software deployment, which helps mitigate modern risks. Self-healing systems are also becoming increasingly relevant—as more than just jargon. Artificial Intelligence: Solving all forms of optimization problems, power management, predictive analytics, data science, the possibilities here are ever-evolving and seem limitless. In 2021, the first AI hyperoptimization model was deployed—an AI that trains new AIs. It’s able to do countless hours of initial training in just seconds. I could spend the next hour of typing at 1400wph, discussing advancements here, and still just scratch the surface. Logistics and Shipping: , , and more have been hot topics from 2017 through 2021, and continue to be hot in 2022. Recent evolution of things like driver shortages, dock detentions/delays, and shipment container-hauling chassis have led to newsworthy port backups and stalls in the supply chain. Odds are pretty high that you or someone you know has seen shelves barren as of late, sometimes for days to weeks at a time. COVID has definitely contributed, but some things, like the chassis shortages, have been backlogged for a year or more. Amazon and Walmart are struggling to find logistics support, FedEx seems to be struggling, and many third-party logistics providers are starving for talent. Self-driving cars can aid with resolving the talent struggles but are not market-ready for full autonomy yet. Seoul Robotics displayed a “ ” at CES 2022. Warehouse optimization automated warehouses LVL5 CTRL TWR One simple use case for this might be a CRM integration that verifies customers’ location-based details, such as weather, so businesses aren’t sending out SMS coupons for sleds when it’s seventy degrees outside. Manufacturing: Holy cow, we’re seeing the birth of the first fully autonomous factories and robots that can both feel pain and respond to it themselves. . They’re capable of complex tasks such as independently loading products and pallets onto trucks, and more—with no human intervention. Japan and the US are already —the perceptible culmination of tech required for fully automated factories and fully automated self-driving cars. Robots can now detect damage and repair themselves as well as other robots working on collective standards for 6G communications What is your hope for the metaverse? Do you have any worries or does the concept pose any threats? I have high hopes for it. I see the metaverse as an opportunity for humans to create truly sustainable industry, fully-immersive entertainment, and experiences, and resolve many trust-based issues that exist in the modern market. We may see a world of anything we can ever want within the next 20 years. I have a wide array of concerns as well, of course. We’ve got AI and machine-related ethics, defining the human experience to enable people to continue living full, deep, fulfilling lives, and even concerns regarding the addictiveness of AR/VR, gaming addiction, and more. Then there’s the prospect of mind-reading technology (Neuralink to name one business in the space), and a whole host of potential dystopian and apocalyptic scenarios. I’m not a doomsday type of guy, but I’m not blind to the possibilities, either. We have to work together and consistently adhere to and test our morals & ethics to ensure a bright tomorrow for humanity, specifically the generations to come. Thanks for your time! Any final words? I like to talk to people who do stuff. I welcome all formats of feedback and conversation, as long as people are respectful. I’m the guy that people come to when everyone says their idea is crazy, who helps them launch and raise funds. Most of the time, it’s people that are just ahead of their time. This article definitely covers more than just the metaverse, but I think it’s important to see progress as a whole, how the pieces come together, and where businesses can fit into the puzzle. That’s what I’m passionate about—stepping into the unknown and figuring out what connections exist, and which ones need to exist. I’m happy to answer any questions that I am able to.

There’s No Avoiding The Metaverse, It is the Next Chapter in Human History

The Journey Of The CTO (Podcast Transcript)

Image Credit, CoinStrategy.io PubNub , our weekly sponsor, empowers you to build immersive, interactive apps. Chat, maps, dashboards, smart device control — powered by APIs, delivered through global infrastructure. Learn more. Heyo Reader, want to know more about how Hacker Noon runs? I did a with , where I talk about the future of Hacker Noon, bootstrapping my business, upbringing, inspirations, a little bit of hoops, and what’s next in tech: . 5k+ word interview (24 min read) Pirate Beachbum Where There’s Smooke There’s Fire: Interview With David Smooke Founder of Hacker Noon And onto this week’s top 33 tech stories: by [11 min read] Blockchain 101: Ledger to HyperLedger Aayush Joglekar by [10 min read] Build the Right Things — A 5 Step Plan to a Rock-Solid Product Roadmap Eric Weiss by [7 min read] Building a serverless contact form with AWS Lambda and AWS SES Adnan Rahić by [53 min read] ContractPedia: An Encyclopedia of 40 Smart Contract Platforms vasa by [5 min read] Crypto Network Effects Tobias A. Huber by [10 min read] Crypto’s Role in the Age of Autonomization Jake Ryan by [6 min read] Elastic Stack — A Brief Introduction Urfeena Elahi by [31 min read] How Distributed Ledger Technologies are set to disrupt the world’s monetary system Alexandre Juncker & Thomas Bouquet by [29 min read] How Does Blockchain Technology Work? Taylor Pearson by [6 min read] How I added awesome multi-threaded features to Express JS Steve Konves by [12 min read] How I Built a Company With a $130M Valuation Howard Marks by [8 min read] How I got hired by Google, why I left, and why I chose to join OKCoin Alex Feinberg by [11 min read] How to build a roadmap in 3½ steps Momčilo Dakić by [5 min read] How to Start a Software Company as a Non-Technical Entrepreneur Andrew Gazdecki by [7 min read] Is coding becoming obsolete? (Part I) Levon by [4 min read] More NEO: the Rolls Royce of crypto-tokens (and that’s a bad thing) David Gilbertson crypto adventures. by [9 min read} 9 Things You Need To Know About Mesh Networks Lara De Schutter - HypeLabs by [5 min read] Prediction markets are hot AF right now. Igor Feerer by [7 min read] Quantum Computing is Schrödinger’s Opportunity azeem by [8 min read] Reacting to React.js Puyan Wei by [5 min read] So, You Want to Be a PM, but You Aren’t Technical. Read This. Stephen Cognetta by [9 min read] Tensorflow Vs Keras? — Comparison by building a model for image classification. DataTurks: Data Annotations Made Super Easy by [4 min read] The Market Vs. The Frontier Founder Collective by [3 min read] The over-eager programmer Adam Zachary Wasserman by [4 min read] Things to Avoid While Accessing the Deep Web Hardik Patel by [9 min read]. Get votes on your twitter polls via Twitter Data Hacking: A Recipe to Yield Better Startup Insight Kenny Li AMIpolls.com by [15 min read] Understanding promises in Javascript Gokul N K by [8 min read] Using Pa11y CI and Drone as accessibility testing gatekeepers Dominic Fraser by [9 min read] Where is the money for mobile app developers in blockchain? Hammad Tariq by [9 min read] Why I left San Francisco to build my new startup while traveling the world Ariel Camus by [8 mind read] Why is Python so slow? Anthony Shaw by [6 min read] Why Your “Soft Skills” Matter in Building a Culture of Success Erik P.M. Vermeulen by [10 min read] You’re not even criticising Scrum Chris Cooney Hope you enjoy this 6 hours and 7 minutes of . Hacker Noon reading Until next time, don’t take the realities of the world for granted. Kind Regards [ ] David Smooke 24 min read P.S. PubNub , our weekly sponsor, empowers you to build immersive, interactive apps. Chat, maps, dashboards, smart device control — powered by APIs, delivered through global infrastructure. Learn more.

Hacker Noon Founder Interview, & More Top Tech Stories This Week

Many people have stated that bitcoin is akin to tulip mania. It’s not. It is true that cryptocurrencies may be in a mania phase where price is decoupled from productivity, but that does not tell the full story. Blockchain technology, and by extension cryptocurrency, is a technological revolution and it follows the cycle of other technological revolutions like the Industrial Age and the Information Age. At times, I’ll use blockchain and crypto interchangeably. For blockchain technology to change the world, it must be implemented as cryptocurrency. The two are inextricably linked. This article aims to explain the difference between bitcoin (and the entire crypto-asset class) and tulip mania. I intend to show that cryptocurrency, as a technology in concert with other technologies, is driving the next long wave economic cycle. Technological revolutions transform the world and I will illustrate how, when and where cryptoassets fit within that picture. Bitcoin was the first “killer app” of a technology called blockchain. Bitcoin brought forth something innovative by creating a global system to digitally transfer and store value. It does this through its design by using decentralization, immutability, incentivization in novel ways that allow commerce transactions without the need of a trusted third party (i.e. like a bank). Moreover, the next generation of cryptocurrencies bring forth the capability of smart contracts (i.e. programmable money). These capabilities are new and they will spark an entire wave of technological improvement centered around how we globally generate, store and transfer value. Let’s take a look at how technological revolutions and their long economic cycles are constructed. The Model of Technological Revolutions I just finished reading by Carlota Perez. She outlines 5 surges over the past 200 years and explains the model and mechanics of how these long cycles evolve. It got me thinking about the past technological revolution during the Internet Surge. I wanted to see how my experience going through that cycle fit within the context of the book. It explained a lot and helped me think about the Internet Age in new ways. Then, I started to think if this could describe what’s currently going on with artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency. I believe it does. Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages Each surge has has 2 periods that are very different in nature: and . Generally, speaking each surge lasts 40–60 years and each period within the surge lasts 20–30 years. the Installation Period the Deployment Period Each period has 2 phases within it. The Installation Period has the and the . Among other things, this is where “ ” happens. Since we’re focused on the current technological revolution, we’ll focus on the current everything up to the current surge’s Turning Point. Irruption Phase Frenzy Phase. T_he Deployment Period has the and the . The Installation and Deployment periods are separated by a key milestone, something Perez calls t_he Turning Point Synergy Phase Maturity Phase the crash Installation Period and its two phases, From “Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital” by Perez page 32 This book outlines some abstractions and models for how technological revolutions act similarly over time, describes the phases of the cycle and illustrates her model through past technological revolutions. The 5 surges over the past 200 years she discusses in the book are: Industrial Revolution: 1771–1829 Age of Steam & Railways: 1829–1873 Age of Steel & Electricity: 1875–1918 Age of Oil & Mass Production: 1908–1974 Age of Information & Telecommunications: 1971–20?? *Age of Autonomy: 2009 — ? * Note: This is my assertion or prediction and not a part of the book From the book, “Technological Revolution and Financial Capital” by Perez The 6th Surge — A New Age Based on the model outlined in the book, Many have talked about the “Age of Automation”, but I don’t think that description captures the full picture. Automation focuses on making systems and processes automatic without the need for continuous intervention or input from an operator (a human). Autonomy focuses on making an agent or system self-governing. As we’ll see, this slight distinction makes all the difference. I think we’re in a new Age — the Age to Autonomy. This new technological revolution fits within the model of the or long wave paradigm and the model outlined in the book by Perez. Some have written about . Below we’ll discuss the patterns within a cycle of technological revolution, enumerate some of the events for each period and phase and describe the greater context. Kondratieff Cycle cryptocurrency itself following the Kondratieff long wave cycle Photo by on Yucel Unsplash Age of Automation — Descriptions to Date Many people have written about the . Just the term. It’s about artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT) and robotics. There have been stories and documentaries aplenty the past couple of years on these topics. There are exchange-traded funds (ETF’s) investments focused on AI/robotics and automation like $BOTZ and $ROBO. Age of Automation google Automation is an important trend but it’s not important trend. I assert on their own these cannot bring about a technological revolution. The last required technology is blockchain and, within its architecture, the idea of decentralization. The important trend is . the autonomization Photo by on Ryoji Iwata Unsplash Blockchain — The Last Piece of the Puzzle While I think both points of view on automation and cryptocurrency add value to the general movement, I think the writers miss the application and model structure a bit. Technologies that advance automation, like AI or robotics, can easily fit within the current paradigm. Any company that invests in building these will reap the rewards of their investments. There is no paradigm shift and no change to the status quo. There are 3 innovations that empower cryptocurrency to be the last pillar. The first is a new digital model for the global generation, transference and store of value. The second is the ability of smart contracts that allow for rules-based transference of value, programmatically. The third is decentralization which allows us to cross organizational borders and break the constraints of a centralized organization or a central authority. The paradigm shift is in the transformation of how we come together to produce work and how we govern relationships. The shift occurs through decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO’s), smart contracts and new governance models. This shifts the power and the reward from the centralized organization back to the individual. All of these occur in the realm of cryptocurrency. Therefore, the last technology required to bring about a new age is cryptocurrency. Just like in the last surge, the Internet was an important component of the surge, but not its core focus. It was an integral mechanism, but the revolution was about something bigger. It was the Age of Information. In the same way, this new surge is about autonomy. Cryptocurrency will be an integral component, but the revolution isn’t just about cryptocurrency. It’s the final pillar that will support a broader Age — the Age of Autonomy. Photo by on Jelleke Vanooteghem Unsplash The Age of Autonomy — What’s Possible This new Age is going to bring about transformational change. It will alter every aspect of how a business or organization will go about producing goods and services. Throughout the globe, each industry, community and government will begin building autonomous agents to produce work, generate value then transfer and store value. These actions will be created and enforced by software — agents and bots implementing smart contracts through cryptocurrency platform networks. Robotics will achieve any movement in the physical world. The internet of things will provide the sensors and networks to measure and communicate data. Artificial intelligence will provide the judgement, expertise and evaluation within a closed system. And decentralized cryptocurrency platforms will provide movement across organizations via the smart contracts to govern and enforce the transfer and store of value from the work produced. This will also restore balance between the individual and the group. Autonomous agents working in a decentralized world will allow people to invest and work on projects they’re interested in and be paid or rewarded for their contribution. Earning tokens through work or investing in cryptoassets you believe in allow the benefit to be restored back to the individual. No longer will there be a rent-seeking intermediary like Facebook, Uber, Google or any other to extract value from the whole. Central organizations will no longer accumulate all the benefit. The power is restored to the individual because they will be able to vote within the governance systems without politics and without an intermediary circumventing the will of the collective individuals. Where Are We Now? It’s important to try and figure out where we are in the cycle. I believe the “Big Bang” milestone happened with the invention of bitcoin in 2009. Artificial intelligence, internet of things and robotics all made significant improvements in their respective space in the early and mid 2010’s. The last nine years have been about the technology and has not diffused to a wider audience, yet. These clues tell us that we’re somewhere at the end of the Irruption Phase. Additionally, we’ve seen some market fervor in cryptocurrency in 2017, so that puts us in the early stages of the Frenzy Phase. As such, I’ve marked where I estimate us to be in the cycle below. Irruption Phase — What has Happened? As Perez defines it, the Irruption Phase is the beginning of the cycle where the new technology is discovered. The focus is on technology. The phase starts with a “Big Bang” moment which is when some new technology is discovered. This is good news because the world is experiencing economic discord and unemployment from the decline of old industries of the past surge. The irruption of new technology creates new possibilities and during the Irruption Phase visionaries and early adopters are inventing and figuring out exactly what the new technology is and how it could impact the world. Frenzy Phase — What to Expect? The Frenzy Phase starts with intensive investment. The focus of this phase is investment and speculation. The Frenzy Phase brings out the speculators and during this phase we see a decoupling of investment and production. Moreover, increased polarization between the rich and the poor can be expected. The Frenzy Phase ends in a “crash” event that starts the Turning Point in the cycle. From Perez — “ .” Neither the Tulip mania of the 1630’s nor the South Sea Bubble of 1720 qualifies in this sense as there were no technological revolutions driving the events. In fact, there are many psychology phenomena associated with speculative behavior, but not related to the assimilation of technological revolutions in a capitalist context Not all bubble or mania behavior is a part of a technological revolution. Tulips are not a technological revolution. However, there do exist bubbles or manias that fit within this stated paradigm. Blockchain technology, and by extension cryptocurrency, do fit within the described paradigm. Therefore, we can expect the future cycle to follow past technological revolutionary cycles. Photo by on rawpixel Unsplash Conclusion As you can see, we’ve started a new surge, a new technological revolution. Actions will be focused around building autonomy throughout the entire production cycle. Cryptocurrencies will play a key role. I predict by the end of this surge, we will no longer organize society around labor and production. Production, as a unit, will be solved. Robotics will automate production in the physical world, while sensors and data will move through the Internet of Things. Software, through bots, agents and cryptocurrency will generate, transfer and store the world’s value. Artificial intelligence will provide the brain power to learn, execute, measure and adapt each component within the decentralized system. New models will bring forth our new future. Right now, we’re in the middle of an exciting time to be an investor. We’ve just started a phase where speculation and investment in the new technological revolution will bring about massive fortunes. Like the railroads in the 19th century and the last surge of the Age of Information and Telecommunications, we’re starting a peak period where investments can produce enormous returns. Cryptocurrency is not like tulip mania because it’s being driven by the adoption of a new technology which ends up reorganizing how the entire globe functions. This won’t happen overnight, but if we look closely we can see that it’s just history repeating itself once again. Disclaimer: The above references an opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Please do your own homework. Jake Ryan is the founder of Tradecraft Capital, a crypto hedge fund. He is also a startup advisor, an angel investor & a writer on investing. If you enjoyed this article “clap” to help others find it! For more, join us on Facebook , Twitter . #crypto #cryptocurrency #bitcoin #investing #blockchain #tradecraft

Crypto’s Role in the Age of Autonomy

Humans! One interesting twinkle in the dark, vacuous expanse of the cosmos. Trapped on a floating ball of rock to mope into space and be tormented by relentless, conflicting emotions. Prison within and prison without. Awaiting the summon of death. What the hell is this existence and what is its use? At least we have each other. Right? Yes, we do. Plus, the resources of the earth. And most importantly, there's that small voice that keeps telling us to become more. So, we stagger on. Nothing is certain in this great maze of existence but we don't just give in. We grope for purpose in the confusing unknown. We do what we do in search of fulfillment. Thus, we solve problems for those we love. We really dig in and harvest ingenious creations from within us. It makes us happy, so we keep going. We keep chasing that which our heart yearns for. What is it many have asked? What is it that we really want? Some of the smartest among us have given a name to it, and I dare agree with them. It is what it is; Freedom! Freedom from wants, death, and ourselves. Freedom from whatever dares limit us. Freedom from this great bondage that is us. Hence, in our relentless yearning, we build this great bridge of science. Into matter, into space, into life. Into technology! Oh that we may find that which we seek. Oh that we may find; Autonomy! Autonomy Has Always Driven Technology Humans have always been bound by limitations that we constantly rebel against. Imagine the caveman days. Small, slow, and weak as we were, we were completely bound by the harsh laws of the jungle. Dominated by powerful creatures. Yet, our big brain brought us to the very top of the food chain. Inventions like the spear, knife, and arrow with advanced hunting strategies helped us overcome the powerful beasts that ruled the wild. Then, we created our own societies and were ruled by tribal laws. Not very different jungle laws though but strong humans were in charge now. Then came the reign of religion, and priests were in charge. Then came countries with cunning politicians. Then came capitalism with wealthy businessmen who are now running the show. All these changes have been driven by advancements as humans try to take more control of their lives. From being ruled by wild beasts to strong men to priests to politicians and businessmen, people have always invented systems that gave them more control of their lives. And this progress is not only evident in the technology of our leadership but also in the everyday devices that we use. First, we had caves and stone tools, then came villages and metal tools, and then came towns and analog machines. Now, we have cities and digital technology. This drive for autonomy in our technology has culminated in what we call a decentralized internet or web3. Autonomy in Web3 Web 3 remains a relatively recent technology that is yet to be widely understood. Yet, it is already being widely adopted as the advantages are very obvious. Simply put, web3 aims to put the Internet and financial system under the control of everyone and not just a few giant corporations. Why is this necessary you may ask? Well, the answer is simple: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!" The internet and financial systems represent the most critical technologies that humans have been able to develop. Hence, there is a great power in the hands of anyone who controls them. It's no wonder that top government officials and tech billionaires dominate the list of most powerful people in the world. This great power which allows such people to exercise control around the world is akin to the legendary absolute power that absolutely corrupts the wielders. And we have already seen this corruption at play. For example; , , , etc. Facebook has recorded multiple user data breaches Twitter has been accused many times of stifling free speech US politicians were caught cheating through insider trading in the stock market Hence, the internet and financial market which have lasting effects on people’s lives need some level of democracy. This is what web3 promises. Cryptocurrencies were introduced as a means for people to transact directly without passing through middlemen in the banking institutions who often benefit fraudulently from people’s money with little or no punishment. Combining crypto with blockchain technology provides the world with a global decentralized financial internet that no one fully controls and everyone can benefit from. Is Autonomy Truly Possible? Many reservations have been raised about the practicality of web3 and whether it can be truly autonomous. For example; fundamental blockchain infrastructures are often hosted on web2 servers with centralized control. Also, mining cryptocurrency is energy intensive which makes the entire system dependent on power companies. Would the power companies and server owners not be the new bosses in town? Well, that's a critical problem that is yet to be solved. However, blockchain technology is slowly solving the centralized server problem through compressed distributed storage of the technology on the devices of its users. Basically, a blockchain is a database, and every device that connects to the blockchain has a version of the database stored on it. This makes it possible for the billions of devices that users use to connect to the blockchain to function as servers distributed around the world instead of just one central server. Fingers crossed for what will come in the future. About the electricity problem, well, most cryptocurrencies have a limited amount of tokens to be mined, hence, mining is not a forever thing. Also, alternative versions of power like solar make it possible for miners to set up affordable sources of personalized power. Hence, centralized power companies can possibly be bypassed. With these considerations, the autonomy that web3 promises can foreseeably be accomplished. Future of Autonomy Picture this... You fall asleep now and awaken in the autonomous age. Robots run the world now. The planet is one big country run by the United Nations and headquartered in Earth City (a giant circular artificial island built in the Atlantic Ocean on longitude 0 degrees and latitude 0 degrees). Networks of underwater hyperloop lines and speed train bridges interconnect all the continents in minutes and the former countries are nothing but political provinces for proper documentation and security. Autonomous vehicles with little or no accidents dominate the roads and autonomous spaceships transverse space to transport people and resources around the solar system. Humans have finally colonized the solar system. The world lives in abundance as automated high-tech farms meet all our agricultural needs. Basic amenities like water, electricity, and education are free, and everyone gets a living wage to cover secondary needs like real estate around the planets, internet access, and transportation. Advanced amenities like technology, art, entertainment, exploration, and financial trading are where businesses operate. Web3 is fully operational. Hologram devices are all over the place for people to experience the dinterverse (decentralized internet metaverse) which uses all those devices as servers. DAOs, running on open-source technology, are the global means of voting, with Auth ID being the prominent open-source platform for decentralized technology. Industry-based crypto coins are the means of exchange (e.g., techon for technology, agrocoin for agriculture, muse for music, etc.) and cryptex trading (forex trading of the time) is the primary means of employment for everyone with people speculating on which industry will do better based on the season. Bitcoin is, however, immortalized as the only currency accepted around the world across all industries. Global poverty has been eradicated and financial inequality is very low around the world with cryptex trading available to everyone. A decentralized financial system was the game changer as it led to an explosion of prosperity through relatively easy cryptex trading. You investigate your trade on your holophone. You're doing very well and will be making another $50,000 this week. You smile to yourself as you glance out the window of your noiseless starjet (silent speed jets that ferry people around the world in minutes). The city below is a great wonder as people said. You're on vacation in Earth City. It's your first time. You came for it. The statue of autonomy or "the human spirit" as it is fondly called. Many weep upon first beholding its glory. The symbol of human victory on the earth. It appears on the horizon. The shiny bust of a crowned androgynous human child stops at the waist so it's neither male nor female. Completely transparent as if entirely made of glass, hence, the name human spirit. With both hands upraised in freedom, it holds Bitcoin (the first global crypto) in the right hand and a scroll in the left. Your ship does the ceremonial circling of the statue. Then it passes the scroll and you behold those legendary words. You read it in a low voice. "We humans hold that all of us are born free. Free to live, free to love, free to prosper!" A smile crawls up your face, and you resolve to uphold this great motto. Then you hear a phone ring. A familiar ancient music. It gets louder and louder. It's your phone. You were dreaming of course. You curse as you pick up your phone. It's your boss calling you to return to work. You cut the call and sigh in disappointment. That dream was just beautiful. Then it occurs to you: The current world is one big nightmare! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN Web3 is upon us. Cryptocurrencies are everywhere and blockchain infrastructure gets more sophisticated every day. Many crypto millionaires roam the earth to prove the real value of the technology. Decentralization is on its way. Below are the predictions you should know about web3; Decentralization is the future. Digital commodities e.g., NFTs, in-game items, virtual real estate, and decentralized exchange (DEX) will create a new industry. Currencies will become more globalized. Companies will become smaller and more personalized. Self-service will become the new way of operating the financial industry. HOW DO I PREPARE FOR AUTONOMY Educate yourself on cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and the metaverse. Invest in promising crypto coins. Participate in public web3 forums. Fund web 3 projects if you can. Learn how to make money on your own from the internet.

Behold: The Autonomy We Always Sought

দেখুন: যে স্বায়ত্তশাসন আমরা সবসময় চেয়েছি

Siehe: Die Autonomie, die wir immer gesucht haben

He aquí: la autonomía que siempre buscamos

Voici : l’autonomie que nous avons toujours recherchée

देखिए: वह स्वायत्तता जो हम हमेशा से चाहते थे

見よ、私たちが常に求めていた自律性

보라: 우리가 항상 추구했던 자율성

Eis: a autonomia que sempre buscamos

Вот: автономия, к которой мы всегда стремились

Bakın: Her Zaman Aradığımız Özerklik

Kìa: Quyền tự chủ mà chúng tôi luôn tìm kiếm

看哪：我们一直寻求的自主权

Ever feel like your phone knows you better than your best friend? Does your newsfeed seem less like a window to the world and more like some weird fun-house mirror? Mine too. They may even be a little too good. And they’re only going to get better. But here's the secret: you can opt-out. A growing cadre of tech gurus, renegade artists and unstoppable activists are throwing a wrench in the system. Big Tech's algorithms are good. There was no escape. Breathe, eat, and sleep. That was all there was to life in the machine." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World is not a word commonly used by the masses. The idea of independence feels like a betrayal. Talking about “freedom” sets off triggers. But autonomy is a dynamic force. Today it’s making a global comeback.  If you look closely you can spot it in  tech, art and activism. Autonomy It adapts and evolves with our ever-changing world. It’s a mindset that says “ ” I’m not going to be controlled by outside forces and external interests. Here’s some non-breaking news. The traditional work compact, in which employees traded hard work and loyalty in exchange for job security is shattered. Thought so. How many times have you gone job-hunting in your life? But consider this. boasts . He remixed the for the most recent Super Bowl in Las Vegas. DJ Steve Aoki more than 3 billion music streams NFL on CBS theme Here’s what he said at Gala Music: “In the 10 years I’ve been making music … six albums, and all those advances … in one drop last year in NFTs, I made more money.” - Steve Aoki Want to opt-out and join the revolution? Connect with techs and developers building a . Why give your personal information to some faceless corporation? web where you are in control Learn from artists minting their creations as . For the first time, it’s possible to cut out the middleman and take ownership of your work. Discover how activists bypass the financial gatekeepers. Now you can use crowdfunding to fuel your movements directly from the people. NFTs Keep reading to see how the coolest tools and platforms are putting you back in control. Let’s get this show on the road. Get ready for an empowered future. The Rise of Autonomy Early in my entrepreneurial journey, a millionaire mentor gave me some advice on autonomy. He said, “ How often are your decisions based on your own values and goals? Norm whoever controls your time controls your income. I suggest it be you who does it.” The concept drove my parents. “Get an education. Get a good job. Retire there.” In their day people often stayed with the same company for their entire career. They were even called “a company man” or “company gal.” Life goals consisted of building deep connections with colleagues and a strong sense of pride in your work. company loyalty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4F9u8Z84YI&embedable=true Back then companies invested in their employees through training programs and full benefits. When I started in sales my big tech employer had a “no-layoff” policy (it ended while I was there). The global creator economy is projected to reach $104.2 billion by 2028, reflecting the increasing number of individuals leveraging online platforms to express themselves creatively and generate income independently. - Creator Economy Over the course of several decades, cracks began to appear in the model. Tech advancements led to increased job insecurity. One of the first job killers I remember was voicemail. Yep. It eliminated the need for receptionists to answer phones, take messages, and write them down on those little pink slips for salespeople returning to the office. Wage freezes and layoffs increased and the "good job" became less common. As the internet took hold in the 90’s globalization became sexy. The social contract between employer and employee collapsed, Companies chased cheap labor and maximum profits for shareholders -  wherever they could find them. But in public, they sought to maintain the illusion of the Golden Age. Their corporate PR departments were quite busy. Today despite the perception of freedom your autonomy is limited. own social media networks. They control the search engines and video production platforms. Their TOS and centralization secure their dominance. Maximize profits for the few. Sound familiar? This traditional model locks out millions of creators worldwide. Big tech giants “The goal of most people for the last half century was to get the good job that paid well with benefits..” - Anthony Spadafore, Director Pathfinders Autonomy Success Story My friend Sarah is a graphic designer with six years of experience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she lost her job at a big ad agency. After chasing hundreds of job posts she decided to be her own boss. Now she works remotely as a freelance designer. Instead of being assigned clients, she sets her own schedule. Her boring projects got replaced by gigs that aligned with her interests. She earns more on her own than she did going into the office. And now she finds personal meaning in her work. The Back-to-Office Push and the Autonomy Challenge A remote work revolution is sweeping around the world. Set free from the confines of the physical office, employees are discovering a newfound sense of autonomy. Do you thrive in an environment tailored to your work style? Can you manage your schedule and responsibilities better with more flexibility? For most of us, the answer is YES! This newfound control increases productivity and boosts morale. Many companies are actively encouraging, some even demanding, a return to “in-office” work. Their  push-back against remote work poses a challenge to employee autonomy. But big business CEOs, government bureaucrats, and even Elon Musk don’t like it. Here's why: :  Remote work helps employees manage their work schedules around personal needs and responsibilities. If your productivity is solid and profits are up why poke the bear? A forced return to the office disrupts this balance and increases stress. Goodbye Flexibility, Hello Frustration : It’s the time and money stupid. We all have 24 hours in our day. Having to commute to the office, pay to park, and upgrade your wardrobe eats into personal time and monthly budgets. The impact on working parents or people with long commutes is huge. The Commute Crisis : Most employees I speak with enjoy the flexibility and convenience of working from home. Some never had this opportunity before COVID-19. Now they realize they can do their job more conveniently. Forcing them back into the office feels like a slap in the face. Morale Killer I think companies that are inflexible with remote work options will lose valuable talent. The job market is competitive. The creator economy allows people like my friend Sarah to level up their skills and create jobs for themselves. The pull of autonomy is strong. Collaboration: Tech, Art and Activism Disruption accelerates when tech, art and activism come together. From interactive installations to digital art platforms, technology has enabled artists to reach wider audiences. You can also spark important conversations about social issues and reform. Techpreneurs are launching tools that empower artists and activists. Modern artists are wielding technology to create art that raises awareness for social causes. Activist groups are reaching a global audience with every social media post. This is the future we're building. A world where creative expression meets social justice. And the power of technology is at the core. - Norm Bond Tech Creators Build Worlds Beyond Reality Tech developers and creators are building alternative platforms to traditional activities. Can you imagine stepping into a painting instead of just looking at it in a museum? You can with . Van Gogh Exhibit: The Immersive Experience The exhibition has been ! This blend of art and cutting-edge technology ranks among the 12 best immersive experiences in the world by CNN. touring since 2017 with +5,000,000 visitors Take a walk alongside Van Gogh during a visually rich journey. It’s a 20,000 square feet sound and light spectacular. The two-story projections leave visitors in awe. You discover the inspiration behind eight of Van Gogh’s iconic works. is one of my favorites. The Starry Night Artists Go Indie with Tech Blockchain technology provides innovative tools for artists to monetize their work through smart contracts, NFTs and crypto. This strategy allows creators to sell their work directly to collectors . Artists are creating digital art and minting it as NFTs. without the need for traditional galleries or intermediaries London's glitchy artist , averaging over $23,000 per sale and topping the charts. His work captivates collectors and redefines the limits of digital art. His signature style is a mesmerizing blend of flashing visuals and dark themes (his website includes a flashing media warning). XCOPY is minting millions with his dystopian NFTs Here’s the thing. XCOPY’s work isn't just visually arresting. Sure there are lots of flashy NFTs and dystopian styles. But his NFT’s spark conversations. He challenges the status quo in the art world. He’s using his creativity to provide a unique commentary on our digital age. . Is a sign of a future where artists control their destinies, or a blip in a system that still favors the powerful? Don’t just wait to see what happens. Take action on YOUR dream. Telling your own story and controlling distribution is an expression of autonomy XCOPY How Activists Use Tech to Win The murder of George Floyd was recorded and spread virally across social media. It ignited Black Lives Matter like a rocket. This wasn't just a tragic event. It was a spark that . The case study reveals how activists can use social media to amplify their message. Consider this. lit the fuse of a movement already simmering online In the month Floyd’s murder, was tweeted more than 400 thousand times. But in the month , the . before #BlackLivesMatter after hashtag spiked and was shared more than 100 million times Nordstrom posted #BlackLivesMatter to Facebook and received more than 5-million likes. The from the brand. engagement was nearly 90 times the level of typical posts Colleges and universities joined in. More than 107 shared . Healthcare systems, nonprofits, corporations, and sports teams also climbed on the #BlackLivesMatter juggernaut. #BlackLivesMatter The entire internet was ablaze with social posts, videos, CEO statements, and brand platitudes to support this trending social movement. It shook the system. The Future of Autonomy The dream of dumping the 9-to-5 and living life on your terms is more than just a hashtag. It’s a call to action. One fueled by a deep desire for autonomy – the freedom to create, work, and live by your own rules. Don’t let it just be a pipe dream. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols surpassed $300 billion in 2023, demonstrating the growing interest in alternative financial systems that promote individual control over assets and transactions. - DeFi Pulse Revolutionary art movements, tech-driven innovation, and modern activism are converging. This shift provides a path to an exciting future. Break free from traditional structures. Now is your chance to build something empowering. It's a world where you can set the pace, call the shots, and shape your days around your passions. There are lots of challenges ahead. Working together is often necessary for maximum impact. Finding the right balance between maintaining individual artistic vision and working within a collective - can be difficult. But let's keep it real. Breaking free from traditional structures means leaving the financial security that these systems can provide. Artists, activists and techs still have bills to pay. Do you have alternative means of funding your work in place? With the rise of new technologies, there’s a need to ensure that ethical practices are followed. You need to address concerns regarding data privacy. There are questions regarding intellectual property rights to be sorted. The environmental impact of tech-driven projects like crypto and NFTs are a dealbreaker for some people. These challenges will have to be met to increase adoption and scale. They require innovative solutions, resilience and funding. To build a more equitable and creative future demands continuous learning and adaptation. Conclusion We’ve covered a lot. You know the journey toward autonomy is an exciting yet challenging one. This trend in tech, art and activism is attracting more people looking for a way out. The digital age provides new tools to take control of your life. It has never been easier to express yourself and reach a target audience. Artists can leverage blockchain technology. Tech creators can build alternative platforms. Activists can fuel movements without traditional limits. Working collectively can exponentially grow results for both individuals and organizations. But the road ahead is not all roses and sunshine. Challenges include navigating concerns about the environment. Ethical considerations riddle the increased use of AI and ML. Building tools that engage marginalized communities is critical in a market-based economy. Long-established traditional systems are not going to just roll over and embrace change. So take the long view if you want to embrace this autonomy trend. If you’re an artist, technologist or activist it’s time to redefine the possible. I’m in. Let’s create and cause the change you want to see. right here on HN to connect. Visit my profile

Breaking Rules: Autonomy in Tech, Art and Activism

নিয়ম ভাঙা: প্রযুক্তি, শিল্প এবং সক্রিয়তায় স্বায়ত্তশাসন

Regeln brechen: Autonomie in Technologie, Kunst und Aktivismus

Rompiendo reglas: autonomía en tecnología, arte y activismo

Briser les règles : autonomie dans la technologie, l'art et l'activisme

नियम तोड़ना: तकनीक, कला और सक्रियता में स्वायत्तता

ルールの破り: テクノロジー、アート、アクティビズムにおける自律性

규칙 위반: 기술, 예술 및 행동주의의 자율성

Quebrando regras: autonomia em tecnologia, arte e ativismo

Нарушение правил: автономия в технологиях, искусстве и активизме

Kuralları Çiğnemek: Teknolojide, Sanatta ve Aktivizmde Özerklik

Phá vỡ các quy tắc: Quyền tự chủ trong công nghệ, nghệ thuật và hoạt động

打破规则：科技、艺术和行动主义的自主性

Sonorus is rapidly gathering momentum as a platform that unites fans and artists, creating a transparent and fair music chart. By leveraging technology, the blockchain-based dApp offers a dynamic space for active engagement in discovering new music. Web3 With over 200,000 global users, is changing the game for music appreciation and valuation. Industry giants such as Haskey, Mask, and Y2Z - among others - have invested $2 million in this project during its seed round, fueling the platform’s growth. Today, we'll dive deeper into TrendFi, Sonorus' innovative system that empowers fans to shape the music landscape. Sonorus Getting to Know Sonorus and TrendFi Sonorus has been in this business for a long time as a decentralized app ( ), reaching an impressive number of users. It aims to create a fair and transparent chart that reflects real trends driven by the community. Fans are rewarded for their impact, while artists benefit from wider recognition and new earnings opportunities. dApp The platform aims to democratize the music industry, where fans' passion determines success, not industry gatekeepers. Sonorus envisions a world that encourages sharing creations and recognizes fans' genuine engagement in music trends. TrendFi is the innovative mechanism launched by Sonorus, allowing fans to actively discover and share new music. TrendFi represents the instrument making Sonorus' vision a reality, where music charts reflect the community's collective voice. The platform goes beyond the classic passive listening experience and encourages active participation through voting for favorite tracks. Charting a New Path: The Innovation of TrendFi The key to understanding TrendFi is to see it as the beating heart of Sonorus. It is a unique system where fans' engagement directly impacts the success of songs. First of all, the voting's impact here goes beyond showing support. It adds value to the track, creating a dynamic music chart that reflects the community's engagement. Moreover, early supporters who identify trends can earn rewards as tracks gain momentum from votes. This rewards fans' passion for music and gives them a sense of involvement with their favorite songs. But TrendFi is not just for fans; artists also benefit from it by receiving transparent recognition and rewards. As their songs gather votes, creators see the resonance of their music with authentic fan engagement. The real-time charts on Sonorus result from the active fan support, not just sales or plays. This ensures that they accurately reflect the current excitement of music lovers. Finally, TrendFi empowers discovery by allowing fans to nominate songs for the platform. This democratizes music discovery and gives emerging artists a chance to spread their work. How Sonorus Empowers their Community & Undiscovered Artists Sonorus is a game-changer for unrecognized artists. It's an inclusive platform that encourages artists to upload their music directly. Unlike traditional platforms, the project's nomination process is transparent and rapid. As a practical example, let's say you previously released a track. All you need to do is to find the song's link on , add it to Sonorus, and that’s it. The more votes such a track receives on Sonorus, the faster its value grows. Spotify Voting follows a simple reward-penalty system. For every vote received, a song's price escalates by 0.000002 BNB. As you may guess, selling votes causes the value to decrease by the same amount. Consider, to have the full picture of this system, that the song's initial price will always be 0.0002 BNB. Sonorus also has its governance token, $SNS. This token affords decisions shaping the future of the project. $SNS holders will have access to staking rewards and other utilities that further embed the token into the Sonorus experience. This ensures that $SNS will continue to play a crucial role in the project's development, empowering artists and fans. Sonorus encourages users to be trendsetters, nominating and sharing their favorite tracks early. It's a win-win mechanism for artists and fans alike: the platform provides an opportunity for new artists to thrive and for fans to discover fresh music. Bottom Line - An Ecosystem for Music Lovers and Creators Sonorus, through its innovative TrendFi system, is redefining music appreciation. It's a platform that integrates blockchain technology, empowering fans and artists alike. It fosters a community that rewards engagement, promotes undiscovered talent, and ensures transparency. The future of music, driven by fan passion and open participation, appears to be decentralized. In fact, decentralization aims to bypass middlemen and ensure artists' works are valued and respected. To learn more about Sonorus and TrendFi, the project's can offer insight into the platform's vision and potential. You can also keep in touch with the team through the project's official and channels. website Telegram Discord

TrendFi - A New Way to Empower Music Fans and Artists via the Blockchain

TrendFi - ব্লকচেইনের মাধ্যমে সঙ্গীত অনুরাগী এবং শিল্পীদের ক্ষমতায়নের একটি নতুন উপায়৷

TrendFi – eine neue Möglichkeit, Musikfans und Künstler über die Blockchain zu stärken

TrendFi: una nueva forma de empoderar a los fanáticos y artistas de la música a través de Blockchain

TrendFi - Une nouvelle façon d'autonomiser les fans de musique et les artistes via la Blockchain

ट्रेंडफाई - ब्लॉकचेन के माध्यम से संगीत प्रशंसकों और कलाकारों को सशक्त बनाने का एक नया तरीका

TrendFi - ブロックチェーンを通じて音楽ファンとアーティストに力を与える新しい方法

TrendFi - 블록체인을 통해 음악 팬과 아티스트에게 힘을 실어주는 새로운 방법

TrendFi – Uma nova maneira de capacitar fãs e artistas de música por meio do Blockchain

TrendFi — новый способ расширить возможности любителей музыки и исполнителей с помощью блокчейна

TrendFi - Müzik Hayranlarını ve Sanatçıları Blockchain Aracılığıyla Güçlendirmenin Yeni Bir Yolu

TrendFi - Một cách mới để trao quyền cho người hâm mộ âm nhạc và nghệ sĩ thông qua Blockchain

TrendFi - 通过区块链赋予乐迷和艺术家权力的新方式

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