Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is outlining a $52.7 billion state spending plan with more money for the migrant crisis, education and quantum computing

Illinois governor's proposed $53B budget includes funds for migrants, quantum computing and schools - ABC News

Five Venezuelan migrants have been charged with theft from two separate Oak Brook stores on Tuesday.

5 more migrants charged with theft from Oak Brook stores

Chicago residents lashed out against city council members over the illegal immigrant crisis draining millions in taxpayer dollars and city resources.

Chicago residents speak out against migrants welcomed by city: 'Junking up our country'

When Gov. Hochul delivered her State of the State last month, the message was straightforward and hard to miss. It was about what wasn’t there. Glaringly and inexplicably missing from her speech was any real mention of the migrant crisis — an issue 85% of New Yorkers statewide deem to be ...

Hochul does too little for migrants, Melissa DeRosa writes

New York City now plans to give potential billions to migrants on pre-loaded debit cards with zero fraud protection.

Eric Adams’ migrant debit-card debacle will crush NYC as it swipes from taxpayers

The local landmark that hosts daytrippers and hostel guests alike is about to undergo renovations that could increase public access.

Prohibition rum runners and deadly shipwrecks: Pescadero's Pigeon Point Lighthouse turns 150

Mygrants

mygrants

We live in a world where new fintech apps are constantly emerging. Many of these apps compete with each other and have raised large amounts of money. Some have become a part of our daily lives, and we use them almost like everyday words. However, a serious issue remains: millions of people around the world, especially in developing countries, do not have access to basic banking services and are excluded from the global financial system. Despite significant progress in recent years, financial exclusion remains a global challenge. A recent study found that by the end of 2023, over 200 million migrants sent an estimated US$656 billion in remittances to at least 800 million people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). And here’s another trivia-worthy fact: the digital remittance market was last valued at $19.8 billion in 2023 and is only projected to grow from here. The same study suggests a staggering compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7% to reach $43.26 billion by 2028. However, many of these recipients lack access to formal financial services, limiting their ability to fully leverage these funds for economic advancement. To put this into simple terms, most of these recipients do not even have access to a bank account. Critics might argue that technology alone can't solve this problem. They’re right – in a way. But they're missing the point. See, Technology was never meant to solve the problem in its entirety. Its job is to catalyze this change. And we’ve seen this work in multiple cases. Take, for instance, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) proactive stance in promoting digitalization. They combined cutting-edge tech with forward-thinking policies, enabling fintech participation in remittance flows. This serves as a blueprint for how regulators can foster innovation with compliance. And the data backs it up. According to recent reports, India accounts for half of global payment volume with a staggering 50% CAGR from 2017-2024, involving 164 billion transactions worth 510 billion in 2023-24 alone. India has also taken a localized approach to this. They’ve managed to embed fintech into the India Stack, including biometric identification, the unified payments interface (UPI), mobile connectivity, digital lockers, and consent-based data sharing. And they’re not alone. China, too, is emerging as a major player with its Belt and Road Initiative. With apps like WeChat Pay and AliPay, China is expanding its digital payment ecosystem to those who are most in need of it. However, despite Technology’s potential impact on fostering financial inclusion, we still face regulatory hurdles. According to GSMA's 2024 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, there are still regulatory barriers that limit the full potential of digital remittances in Africa, with several African countries maintaining restrictions on sending remittances to mobile money accounts. And then there’s high costs. Sub-Saharan Africa saw an average cost of 7.39% for a $200 transfer, significantly higher than India’s 4.95% for the same period (Q3 2023) High costs are partly due to limited competition, regulatory barriers, and underdeveloped financial infrastructure in the continent. But there’s hope we can address this in the very near future and we’re witnessing some pretty transformative trends as we speak. Machine learning has come a long way and with public access to Gen-AI APIs, we can solve most rudimentary problems through software. Take, for instance, KYC and onboarding. Previously, these tasks required significant manpower and involved heavy paperwork. However, with the advent of KYC automation, the landscape has transformed. AI-driven biometric verification enhances security by ensuring the person onboarding is who they claim to be, streamlining the process. And for the cases where extra validation is needed, we can include a human-in-the-loop (HTIL) to make sure we’re not sacrificing compliance. AI has gotten to a place where most models can be trained to pretty much replicate most human actions - look for patterns, and anomalies and flag respective accounts where data is inconclusive. This should significantly bring down the cost of adoption and foster a competitive environment. With the advent of open banking, and over 100 billion APIs accessed globally, we’re transforming how financial services are delivered, particularly to underserved communities. Moreover, digital lending apps like Tala provide micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with instant credit facilities without the need for collateral. However, there’s more work to be done. Concerted efforts are needed to fully leverage the potential of mobile money and digital remittances. We need to work towards a more unified regulatory environment to facilitate cross-border and interoperable instant payment systems. This will require support from both the public and private sectors. Enhancing digital infrastructure, including mobile networks and internet connectivity, is crucial for progress. It is essential for governments and regulators to facilitate the development and scaling of new technologies. This can be achieved through the establishment of innovation hubs, and public access to funding. In conclusion, achieving financial inclusion presents both a challenge and a chance. It urges regulators, innovators, and the global community to work together, making certain that technology is utilized not only for efficiency but also for fairness. We live in a world where new fintech apps are constantly emerging. Many of these apps compete with each other and have raised large amounts of money. Some have become a part of our daily lives, and we use them almost like everyday words. However, a serious issue remains: millions of people around the world, especially in developing countries, do not have access to basic banking services and are excluded from the global financial system. millions of people around the world, especially in developing countries, do not have access to basic banking services and are excluded from the global financial system. Despite significant progress in recent years, financial exclusion remains a global challenge. A recent study found that by the end of 2023, over 200 million migrants sent an estimated US$656 billion in remittances to at least 800 million people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). recent study And here’s another trivia-worthy fact: the digital remittance market was last valued at $19.8 billion in 2023 and is only projected to grow from here. The same study suggests a staggering compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7% to reach $43.26 billion by 2028. However, many of these recipients lack access to formal financial services, limiting their ability to fully leverage these funds for economic advancement. To put this into simple terms, most of these recipients do not even have access to a bank account. the digital remittance market the digital remittance market Critics might argue that technology alone can't solve this problem. They’re right – in a way. But they're missing the point. See, Technology was never meant to solve the problem in its entirety. Its job is to catalyze this change. And we’ve seen this work in multiple cases. See, Technology was never meant to solve the problem in its entirety. Its job is to catalyze this change. And we’ve seen this work in multiple cases. Take, for instance, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) proactive stance in promoting digitalization. They combined cutting-edge tech with forward-thinking policies, enabling fintech participation in remittance flows. This serves as a blueprint for how regulators can foster innovation with compliance. And the data backs it up. According to recent reports , India accounts for half of global payment volume with a staggering 50% CAGR from 2017-2024, involving 164 billion transactions worth 510 billion in 2023-24 alone. India has also taken a localized approach to this. They’ve managed to embed fintech into the India Stack, including biometric identification, the unified payments interface (UPI), mobile connectivity, digital lockers, and consent-based data sharing. And they’re not alone. China, too, is emerging as a major player with its Belt and Road Initiative. With apps like WeChat Pay and AliPay, China is expanding its digital payment ecosystem to those who are most in need of it. recent reports recent reports However, despite Technology’s potential impact on fostering financial inclusion, we still face regulatory hurdles. According to GSMA's 2024 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, there are still regulatory barriers that limit the full potential of digital remittances in Africa, with several African countries maintaining restrictions on sending remittances to mobile money accounts. And then there’s high costs. Sub-Saharan Africa saw an average cost of 7.39% for a $200 transfer, significantly higher than India’s 4.95% for the same period (Q3 2023) High costs are partly due to limited competition, regulatory barriers, and underdeveloped financial infrastructure in the continent. But there’s hope we can address this in the very near future and we’re witnessing some pretty transformative trends as we speak. GSMA's 2024 State of the Industry Report GSMA's 2024 State of the Industry Report India’s 4.95% for the same period (Q3 2023) India’s 4.95% for the same period (Q3 2023) Machine learning has come a long way and with public access to Gen-AI APIs, we can solve most rudimentary problems through software. Take, for instance, KYC and onboarding. Previously, these tasks required significant manpower and involved heavy paperwork. However, with the advent of KYC automation, the landscape has transformed. AI-driven biometric verification enhances security by ensuring the person onboarding is who they claim to be, streamlining the process. And for the cases where extra validation is needed, we can include a human-in-the-loop (HTIL) to make sure we’re not sacrificing compliance. AI has gotten to a place where most models can be trained to pretty much replicate most human actions - look for patterns, and anomalies and flag respective accounts where data is inconclusive. This should significantly bring down the cost of adoption and foster a competitive environment. With the advent of open banking, and over 100 billion APIs accessed globally, we’re transforming how financial services are delivered, particularly to underserved communities. Moreover, digital lending apps like Tala provide micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with instant credit facilities without the need for collateral. 100 billion APIs 100 billion APIs However, there’s more work to be done. Concerted efforts are needed to fully leverage the potential of mobile money and digital remittances. We need to work towards a more unified regulatory environment to facilitate cross-border and interoperable instant payment systems. This will require support from both the public and private sectors. Enhancing digital infrastructure, including mobile networks and internet connectivity, is crucial for progress. It is essential for governments and regulators to facilitate the development and scaling of new technologies. This can be achieved through the establishment of innovation hubs, and public access to funding. In conclusion, achieving financial inclusion presents both a challenge and a chance. It urges regulators, innovators, and the global community to work together, making certain that technology is utilized not only for efficiency but also for fairness.

Empowering Economies: The Role of Cross-Border Payments

Securing Our Inclusive Future in the Web3 Era A few decades ago, women in the United States couldn’t open their bank accounts without a male cosigner until 1974. It wasn’t until 1993 that all fifty states finally recognized spousal rape as a crime. These milestones, so recent in our collective memory, seem almost unimaginable today. We now take the rights our predecessors fought so hard to secure for granted. We now stand at the forefront of the digital revolution, but learning from the past, we intend to ensure our future is inclusive. Our current identity is tethered to a fragile plastic card and an easily compromised database that hasn’t been updated since the 1970s. Our current identity is tethered to a fragile plastic card and an easily compromised database that hasn’t been updated since the 1970s. We have finally reached the technological innovation where the dream is to ensure that every man, woman, and child has inalienable rights based on their humanity, not simply what each government determines is allowable. With the chaos only escalating worldwide, it’s time to stop waiting to be saved and save ourselves. And we finally have the tools to kick off this new emancipation proclamation. Picture a future where your humanity is preserved, undiminished by the bureaucracy of expired licenses or the prying eyes of intrusive systems. This is the vision I had back in 2017 when I created the SmartIID digital identity solution for my dating app, Loly. It was a simple yet revolutionary idea: ensure that users interacted with real people, owning their words and actions without oversharing personal details. Just because you walk into a bar doesn’t mean the bouncer needs to know where you live or how much you weigh; they only need to know that you’re of age. Fast forward to today, and I am thrilled to see titans of blockchain coming together to solve identity, with Humanity.org scaling this concept to new heights and achieving unicorn status. They’ve taken one foundational concept, the validity of a human, and transformed it into a globally scalable product, recently achieving unicorn status. Now, it’s really happening – a decentralized system that ensures your humanity does not expire. With Humanity.org, we’re seeing the dawn of a new era where identity is sovereign and privacy is paramount. But identity is just one piece of the puzzle. As we venture further into the realm of Web3, the risks loom large, especially for those unfamiliar with its intricacies. Enter FoolProof Labs, the guardians of digital wallets. Think of them as the McAfee of Web3, providing a robust security net for your assets. Their tools are designed to protect even the most inexperienced users from scams and pitfalls. Picture this: you’re at a bar, entering an exclusive HUG party with your NFT, but instead of risking your prized digital asset, you use a FoolProof token. Emily Herrick, co-founder of FoolProof Labs, perfectly captures the relief we all seek: “No longer do I need to worry about my password being compromised from some huge breach of a service that I’ve used SSO (single sign-on) with, and spend hours changing all of my passwords, or just praying nothing happens to my accounts.” Your assets are safe, whether online or in person, so let the party begin. Sauntering into the event, you mosey up to the bar and realize you only have $BOBBY tokens… Enter Glue – the unsung hero of interoperability. This cross-chain compatible protocol is the glue (pun intended) that binds the fragmented world of decentralized finance. No more figuring out how to bridge from one blockchain to another. Glue makes it effortless, allowing even newcomers to build Web3 dApps that address the world’s most pressing issues without needing permission from gatekeepers. Now, you are easily able to swap your tokens for drinks. And as more consumer-friendly dApps work their way into the mainstream, we as an industry need to address the many elephants in the room. “In light of the challenges faced by exchanges like Celsius and FTX, we recognized the need for a platform that provides the ease of use of a centralized exchange while ensuring users maintain control and security over their funds,” said Ogle, co-founder of Glue. The Glue Hub, which launched on June 19th, changes the game by ensuring that all transactions are conducted on the blockchain. This way, your funds are securely stored in your wallet, not held by Glue. It’s about control, security, and making informed choices in the dynamic world of crypto. With The Glue Hub, your investments are truly yours, safeguarded from the risks associated with centralized exchanges. Now, let’s consider the broader implications. With millions of migrants and refugees around the world, identity verification is more than just a convenience – it’s a necessity as well as a major security concern. Terence Kwok, founder of Humanity Protocol, echoes this sentiment: “The world needs a truly self-sovereign identity framework built on first principles of inclusivity, privacy, and decentralization.” Solving identity helps those in dire need and ensures everyone can participate in commerce. And with all innovation comes the inevitable rise of scammers, growing ever more sophisticated. That’s where FoolProof Labs’ security measures become indispensable, providing protection to foster a safe and inclusive digital environment. The future of Web3 is not just about technology; it’s about crafting a digital world where everyone has a place, a voice, and security. It’s about creating solutions without needing to ask for permission, empowering individuals and communities. This is the Web3 future we should all strive for – one that is accessible, secure, and interconnected, driven by innovation and a commitment to humanity. Would you like to take a stab at answering some of these questions? The link for the template is HERE. Interested in reading the content from all of our writing prompts? Click HERE. Securing Our Inclusive Future in the Web3 Era A few decades ago, women in the United States couldn’t open their bank accounts without a male cosigner until 1974. It wasn’t until 1993 that all fifty states finally recognized spousal rape as a crime. These milestones, so recent in our collective memory, seem almost unimaginable today. We now take the rights our predecessors fought so hard to secure for granted. We now stand at the forefront of the digital revolution, but learning from the past, we intend to ensure our future is inclusive. Our current identity is tethered to a fragile plastic card and an easily compromised database that hasn’t been updated since the 1970s. Our current identity is tethered to a fragile plastic card and an easily compromised database that hasn’t been updated since the 1970s. Our current identity is tethered to a fragile plastic card and an easily compromised database that hasn’t been updated since the 1970s. We have finally reached the technological innovation where the dream is to ensure that every man, woman, and child has inalienable rights based on their humanity, not simply what each government determines is allowable. With the chaos only escalating worldwide, it’s time to stop waiting to be saved and save ourselves. And we finally have the tools to kick off this new emancipation proclamation. Picture a future where your humanity is preserved, undiminished by the bureaucracy of expired licenses or the prying eyes of intrusive systems . This is the vision I had back in 2017 when I created the SmartIID digital identity solution for my dating app, Loly . It was a simple yet revolutionary idea: ensure that users interacted with real people, owning their words and actions without oversharing personal details. intrusive systems digital identity Loly Just because you walk into a bar doesn’t mean the bouncer needs to know where you live or how much you weigh; they only need to know that you’re of age. Fast forward to today, and I am thrilled to see titans of blockchain coming together to solve identity, with Humanity.org scaling this concept to new heights and achieving unicorn status. They’ve taken one foundational concept, the validity of a human, and transformed it into a globally scalable product, recently achieving unicorn status. Now, it’s really happening – a decentralized system that ensures your humanity does not expire. With Humanity.org, we’re seeing the dawn of a new era where identity is sovereign and privacy is paramount. Humanity.org But identity is just one piece of the puzzle. As we venture further into the realm of Web3, the risks loom large, especially for those unfamiliar with its intricacies. Enter FoolProof Labs , the guardians of digital wallets. Think of them as the McAfee of Web3, providing a robust security net for your assets. Their tools are designed to protect even the most inexperienced users from scams and pitfalls. FoolProof Labs Picture this: you’re at a bar, entering an exclusive HUG party with your NFT, but instead of risking your prized digital asset, you use a FoolProof token. Emily Herrick, co-founder of FoolProof Labs, perfectly captures the relief we all seek: “No longer do I need to worry about my password being compromised from some huge breach of a service that I’ve used SSO (single sign-on) with, and spend hours changing all of my passwords, or just praying nothing happens to my accounts.” Your assets are safe, whether online or in person, so let the party begin. HUG Sauntering into the event, you mosey up to the bar and realize you only have $BOBBY tokens… Enter Glue – the unsung hero of interoperability. This cross-chain compatible protocol is the glue (pun intended) that binds the fragmented world of decentralized finance. No more figuring out how to bridge from one blockchain to another. Glue makes it effortless, allowing even newcomers to build Web3 dApps that address the world’s most pressing issues without needing permission from gatekeepers. Now, you are easily able to swap your tokens for drinks. And as more consumer-friendly dApps work their way into the mainstream, we as an industry need to address the many elephants in the room. “In light of the challenges faced by exchanges like Celsius and FTX, we recognized the need for a platform that provides the ease of use of a centralized exchange while ensuring users maintain control and security over their funds,” said Ogle, co-founder of Glue. The Glue Hub , which launched on June 19th, changes the game by ensuring that all transactions are conducted on the blockchain. This way, your funds are securely stored in your wallet, not held by Glue. It’s about control, security, and making informed choices in the dynamic world of crypto. With The Glue Hub, your investments are truly yours, safeguarded from the risks associated with centralized exchanges. The Glue Hub Now, let’s consider the broader implications. With millions of migrants and refugees around the world, identity verification is more than just a convenience – it’s a necessity as well as a major security concern. Terence Kwok, founder of Humanity Protocol, echoes this sentiment: “The world needs a truly self-sovereign identity framework built on first principles of inclusivity, privacy, and decentralization.” Solving identity helps those in dire need and ensures everyone can participate in commerce. And with all innovation comes the inevitable rise of scammers, growing ever more sophisticated. That’s where FoolProof Labs’ security measures become indispensable, providing protection to foster a safe and inclusive digital environment. The future of Web3 is not just about technology; it’s about crafting a digital world where everyone has a place, a voice, and security. It’s about creating solutions without needing to ask for permission, empowering individuals and communities. This is the Web3 future we should all strive for – one that is accessible, secure, and interconnected, driven by innovation and a commitment to humanity. Would you like to take a stab at answering some of these questions? The link for the template is HERE. Interested in reading the content from all of our writing prompts? Click HERE. Would you like to take a stab at answering some of these questions? The link for the template is HERE . Interested in reading the content from all of our writing prompts? Click HERE . HERE HERE HERE HERE

Owning Our Identity: Solving 3 Critical Issues to Driving Mainstream Consumer Adoption of Blockchain

How Adopting Emerging Search Generative Engines (SGEs) Gives Businesses a Strategic Advantage From Bard and Bing to Perplexity, the search engine revolution is only beginning. My previous articles: " " which took a close look at Google's upcoming AGE, currently in Beta, and " ", focused on the use of search engines by consumers and how to adapt SEO strategies. Adapting to Google's Search Generative Engines (SGEs) Mastering SEO in the Era of Large Language Models Today, we look closely at some ways SGE capabilities can help organizations secure a strategic edge. Rather than jumping from one model to another, this article is based on Perplexity.ai's capabilities. Perplexity adds the power of to
classic search functions and could be the model of future integrated search
generative models. ChatGPT4 Turbo and Claude2.1 Generating personalized search For example, imagine that you are working in the AI field, your personalized Perplexity news feed will let you know that Microsoft is partnering with Mistral. Clicking on that news bit, instead of redirecting you to a specific article, Perplexity provides you with: selected sources, and links back to the sources. A contextual summary of the news item The option to ask follow-up questions Related images Suggested follow-up questions Running all those searches manually would take a considerable amount of time, but the results are now available with a few clicks. At this stage, checking the accuracy of the result by accessing the sources is still recommended to avoid potential hallucinations. Yet, even with that taken into account, the overall process is much faster as the sources are quoted and clickable. Keeping up with specific competitors is also accelerated by creating a dedicated news feed. Combining search with competitor intelligence Even more impressive is the ability to generate a competitive intelligence report. Building on the example above, let’s imagine that you want to see how Mistral compares to other SGEs. Just prompting Perplexity returns a comparative table copied below the screenshot to provide a better idea. The full table generated by Perplexity is copied below to give an idea of how extensive it can be. Of course, all these results need to be checked. Yet, as generating this table took less than 10 seconds, the time gained from finding and providing the information sources and organizing them in a comparative table is worth a try. Feature/Aspect Mistral AI Bing Search Bard (Gemini) Perplexity AI AI Technology Large language models (LLMs) with top-tier reasoning performance, optimized for low-latency and high-complexity tasks[1][5]. AI-powered search with a next-generation OpenAI model and proprietary Prometheus model for more relevant and accurate search results[2][6]. LaMDA-based conversational AI service, evolving into Gemini with advanced reasoning, instruction following, and creative collaboration capabilities[3][4]. Not explicitly mentioned in the search results, but as a language model, it would use similar LLM technology for understanding and generating human-like text. Deployment Options Flexible deployment on virtual cloud or on-premises, with a focus on EU-hosted servers and data sovereignty[1][5]. Integrated into Microsoft's search engine Bing, with AI capabilities directly accessible through the search interface[2][6]. Initially released as Bard with a lightweight model for scalability, now part of Google's ecosystem as Gemini, accessible in multiple languages and platforms[3][4]. Not specified in the search results. Customization High levels of customization and control, with full fine-tuning capacities to connect models to business systems and data[1][5]. Customized AI model specifically for search, with the ability to generate content and provide more complete answers[2]. Gemini offers personalization features like a personal tutor or creative partner, tailored to individual needs and styles[4]. Not specified in the search results. Open Technology Committed to open technology, offering the most capable open-weights models, Mistral 7B and Mixtral 8×7B, for free with a fully permissive license[1][5]. Bing has made strides towards open-source technology, including making the BitFunnel search engine indexing algorithm open source[6]. Google has a history of using AI to improve its products and plans to make its Generative Language API, initially powered by LaMDA, available to developers[3]. Not specified in the search results. Performance Mistral Large achieves top-tier performance on benchmarks and independent evaluations, served at high speed[1]. Bing Chat (Microsoft Copilot) based on GPT-4, integrated into the search engine, reached 100 million active users shortly after launch[2][6]. Gemini Ultra 1.0 outperforms human experts on MMLU benchmarks and offers advanced capabilities in reasoning and creativity[4]. Not specified in the search results. Market Availability Models available on Azure and plans to make them available on other cloud platforms in the future[1]. Available through and integrated into the Microsoft Edge browser[2]. Bing.com Bard, now Gemini, is available in 40 languages on the web and through a new app on Android and iOS[4]. Not specified in the search results. [1] https://mistral.ai [2] https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/02/07/reinventing-search-with-a-new-ai-powered-microsoft-bing-and-edge-your-copilot-for-the-web/ [3] https://blog.google/technology/ai/bard-google-ai-search-updates/ [4] https://blog.google/technology/ai/google-gemini-update-sundar-pichai-2024/ [5] https://mistral.ai/technology/ [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Bing Etc. Mining your data SGEs can analyze and interpret unstructured data, like text documents, emails, social media posts, and images. Extracting insights from these sources today requires costly dedicated SaaS or software with limited flexibility. With the growing number of tokens available to LLM (large language models) and SGE models, data analysts can converse with the model to fine-tune their search and uncover previously inaccessible insights. Currently, the best tool for that purpose is Perplexity.ai, which enables uploading a large amount of data and limiting the search exclusively to that data. That drastically reduces the risk of hallucination. To provide an example, instead of feeding Perplexity with proprietary data, I asked it to "Provide a documented example of data mining based on publicly available data. The question is: What are the population trends in terms of gender, life expectancy, and wealth inequality in U.S. states?" Here is the answer it provided: Data mining based on publicly available data can provide valuable insights into population trends. In the United States, recent data from the Census Bureau reveals interesting patterns in terms of population changes, gender distribution, life expectancy, and wealth inequality across different states. Population Trends: Population Growth*: In 2023, more states in the U.S. experienced population growth compared to previous years[1][4]. States like Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia have shown significant population increases.* Population Decline*: Some states like Pennsylvania and West Virginia have faced population declines, although at a slower rate than before[1].* Migration Patterns*: Migration remains a key factor influencing population changes, with states like Texas attracting both domestic and international migrants[2][4].* Racial Diversity*: The demographic landscape is evolving with increasing diversity across states like California and Georgia[4].* Gender Distribution: While specific gender data may not be explicitly mentioned in the search results provided, demographic trends often include gender breakdowns that can be analyzed to understand gender distribution patterns. Life Expectancy: Life expectancy trends are not directly addressed in the search results. However, life expectancy data can be obtained from sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO) to analyze variations across different states. Wealth Inequality: Wealth inequality is a complex issue influenced by various factors such as income distribution, access to education, and economic policies. Analyzing income data from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau or economic research institutions can provide insights into wealth distribution trends within states. By leveraging publicly
available data and employing data mining techniques, researchers can delve
deeper into these population trends to gain a comprehensive understanding of
gender distribution, life expectancy variations, and wealth inequality across
U.S. states. Citations: [1]https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/population-trends-return-to-pre-pandemic-norms.html [2]https://www.census.gov/about/partners/sdc/projects/st-pop-trends.html [3] https://www.commerce.gov/data-and-reports/population-statistics
[4] https://www.visualcapitalist.com/population-of-us-states-compared-with-countries/
[5] https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2022/04/25/a-third-of-states-lost-population-in-2021 How can you use SGE/LLM? These are just a few illustrated examples of how integrating SGE into organizational strategy can be a powerful accelerator. Depending on the SGE/LLM specific capabilities, integrating with their available API can automate functions such as: from various data sources, including unstructured data like social media, emails, reports, images, audio, video, etc. Extracting insights , condensing complex information into actionable insights, saving time and resources. Generating summaries and reports T based on unstructured data, knowledge base, analysts' reports, etc. raining bots for different audience segments Generating email funnels based on prior interactions and query goal Personalize customer service and training process Personalize employee and customer onboarding And the list goes on and on. Your imagination is the best way to find the model’s limits. So, give it a go and let us know in the comments what other use you found. Also, aside from creating a feed in our favorite SGE, the best way to keep updated with my content is to follow me 😀

Adapting to Google's Search Generative Engines (SGEs) - Part 2

This paper is available on arxiv under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 DEED license. Authors: (1) Dihia LANASRI, OMDENA, New York, USA; (2) Juan OLANO, OMDENA, New York, USA; (3) Sifal KLIOUI, OMDENA, New York, USA; (4) Sin Liang Lee, OMDENA, New York, USA; (5) Lamia SEKKAI, OMDENA, New York, USA. Table of Links Abstract & Introduction Background Related Work Our Methodology Experiments and Results Conclusion, Acknowledgments & References 3 Related Work A restricted number of works have been published in the context of hate speech detection dealing with Arabic dialects. This section will analyze the most important NLP approaches dedicated to (1) the Algerian dialect and (2) Other Arabic dialects like Iraqi, Egyptian, Syrian, and Tunisian. This analysis helps us to identify the used approaches, models, and corpora. 3.1 Hate speech detection in Algerian dialect Guellil et al. [2022, 2021] Developed the first approach and corpus in Algerian dialect for hate speech detection against women in Arabic community on social media. This corpus contains more than 373K YouTube comments. Two different algorithms for feature extraction were used: Word2vec with machine learning models (GaussianNB, LogisticRegression, RandomForset, SGDClassifier, and LinearSVC) and FastText with Deep learning models (deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), long short-term memory (LSTM) network and Bi-directional LSTM (BiLSTM) network). Simulation results demonstrated the best performance of the CNN model with FastText. Boucherit and Abainia [2022] addressed the problem of detecting offensive and abusive content in Facebook comments. The corpus contains 8.7K comments in Algerian dialect written in Arabic and Latin characters, manually annotated as usual, abusive, and offensive. They used BiLSTM, CNN, FastText, SVM, and Multinomial Naive Bayes (NB) as classifiers. The experimental results showed that SVM and Multinomial NB classifiers outperformed all the other classifiers. Abainia et al. [2022] addressed the offensive language detection in the Amazigh language, which is one of the underresourced languages. They were interested in the Kabyle dialect. A new corpus of offensive Amazigh language is proposed containing 6.2K documents collected from Facebook and manually annotated as usual or offensive. A new lexicon of offensive and abusive Amazigh words with 12.6k entries is also developed. Many models have been evaluated, like SVM and Multinomial Naive Bayes classifiers tested with tf-idf. FastText was tested with deep learning models CNN and BiLSTM. The naive statistical classifier based on lexicon checking was the winner classifier. Mazari and Kheddar [2023] introduced a new dataset for Algerian dialect toxic text detection. An annotated multi-label dataset is built, containing around 14K comments extracted from Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter and labeled as hate speech, offensive language, and cyberbullying. Several tests have been conducted using many classification models of traditional machine learning: Random Forest, Naıve Bayes, Linear Support Vector (LSV), Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD), and Logistic Regression. Furthermore, several assessments have been conducted using Deep Learning models such as CNN, LSTM, Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), BiLSTM and Bidirectional-GRU (Bi-GRU). Results demonstrated the best performance of LSV, BiLSTM, and MLP when associated with the SGD model. Guellil et al. [2020] proposed a system for detecting hateful speech in Arabic political debates. The approach was evaluated against a hateful corpus concerning Algerian political debates. It contains 5K YouTube comments in MSA and Algerian dialects, written in both Arabic and Latin characters. Both classical algorithms of classification (Gaussian NB, Logistic Regression, Random Forest, SGD Classifier, and Linear SVC(LSVC)) and deep learning algorithms (CNN, multilayer perceptron (MLP), LSTM, and BiLSTM) are tested. For extracting features, the authors use Word2vec and FastText with their two implementations, namely, Skip Gram and CBOW. Simulation results demonstrate the best performance of LSVC, BiLSTM and MLP. Mohdeb et al. [2022] proposed an approach for analysis and the detection of dialectal Arabic hate speech that targeted African refugees and illegal migrants on the YouTube Algerian space. The corpus contains more than 4K comments annotated as Incitement, Hate, Refusing with non-hateful words, Sympathetic, and Comment. The transfer learning approach has been exploited for classification. The experiments show that the AraBERT monolingual transformer outperforms the mono-dialectal transformer DziriBERT and the cross-lingual transformers mBERT and XLM-R. 3.2 Hate speech detection in other Arabic dialects Various datasets or corpora were published in different dialects, which can be used for different purposes like hate speech, racism, violence, etc. detection. ALBayari and Abdallah [2022] is the first work to propose a corpus built from Instagram comments. This corpus contains 198K comments, written in MSA and three different dialects: Egyptian, Gulf, and Levantine. The comments were annotated as neutral, toxic, and Bullying. Al-Ajlan and Ykhlef [2018] and Haidar et al. [2019] datasets are collected from Twitter containing respectively 20K and 34K multi-dialectal Arabic tweets annotated as bullying and non-bullying labels. These tweets were from various dialects (Lebanon, Egypt, and the Gulf area). Moreover, two other datasets were proposed by Mubarak et al. [2017]. The first one with 1.1K tweets in different dialects and the second dataset contains 32K inappropriate comments collected from a famous Arabic news site and annotated as obscene, offensive, or clean. Albadi et al. [2018] proposed the religious hate speech detection where a multi-dialectal dataset of 6.6K tweets was introduced. It included an identification of the religious groups targeted by hate speech. Alakrot et al. [2018] also provided a dataset of 16K Egyptian, Iraqi, and Libyan comments collected from YouTube. The comments were annotated as either offensive, inoffensive, or neutral. T-HSAB Haddad et al. [2019] and L-HSAB Mulki et al. [2019] are two publicly available corpora for abusive hate speech detection. The first one is in the Tunisian dialect, combining 6K comments. The second one is in Levantine dialect (Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, and Jordanian dialects) containing around 6K tweets. These documents are labeled as Abusive, Hate, or Normal. Mubarak et al. [2020] looked at MSA and four major dialects (Egyptian, Levantine, Maghrebi, and Gulf). It presented a systematic method for building an Arabic offensive language tweet dataset that does not favor specific dialects, topics, or genres with 10K tweets. For tweet labeling, they used the count of positive and negative terms based on a polarity lexicon. FastText and Skip-Gram (AraVec skip-gram, Mazajak skip-gram); and deep contextual embeddings, namely BERTbase-multilingual and AraBERT are used. They evaluated different models: SVM, AdaBoost, and Logistic regression. Mulki and Ghanem [2021] introduced the first Arabic Levantine Twitter dataset for Misogynistic language (LeT-Mi) to be a benchmark dataset for automatic detection of online misogyny written in the Arabic and Levantine dialect. The proposed dataset consists of 6.5K tweets annotated either as neutral (misogynistic-free) or as one of seven misogyny categories: discredit, dominance, cursing/damning, sexual harassment, stereotyping and objectification, derailing, and threat of violence. They used BOW + TF-IDF, SOTA, LSTM, BERT, and Majority class as classifiers. Duwairi et al. [2021] investigated the ability of CNN, CNN-LSTM, and BiLSTM-CNN deep learning networks to classify or discover hateful content posted on social media. These deep networks were trained and tested using the ArHS dataset, which consists of around 10K tweets that were annotated to suit hateful speech detection in Arabic. Three types of experiments are reported: first, the binary classification of tweets into Hate or Normal. Ternary classification of tweets into (Hate, Abusive, or Normal), and multi-class classification of tweets into (Misogyny, Racism, Religious Discrimination, Abusive, and Normal). Aldjanabi et al. [2021] have built an offensive and hate speech detection system using a multi-task learning (MTL) model built on top of a pre-trained Arabic language model. The Arabic MTL model was experimented with two different language models to cover MSA and dialect Arabic. They evaluated a new pre-trained model ’MarBERT’ to classify both dialect and MSA tweets. They propose a model to explore multi-corpus-based learning using Arabic LMs and MTL to improve the classification performance. Haidar et al. [2017] presented a solution for the issue of cyberbullying in both Arabic and English languages. The proposed solution is based on machine learning algorithms using a dataset from Lebanon, Syria, the Gulf Area, and Egypt. That dataset contained 35K Arabic texts. In this research, Naïve Bayes and SVM models were chosen to classify the text. The SVM model achieved greater precision. Abdelali et al. [2016] The authors built a large dataset that consists of offensive Arabic words from different dialects and topics. The tweets were labeled into one of these categories: offensive, vulgar, hate speech, or clean. Since the offensive tweets involve implicit insults, the hate speech category was the tweets that contain racism, religious, and ethnic words. Different classifiers were employed in this study; the SVM model with a radial function kernel was mainly used with lexical features and pre-trained static embedding, while Adaptive Boosting and Logistic regression classifiers were employed when using Mazajak embedding. SVM gave the best precision. According to this literature analysis, we detect that the topic of hate speech detection in the Algerian dialect is not widely considered, and only few works deal with this problem. Furthermore, a lack of Algerian datasets prepared for hate speech is found. All these findings motivate our proposal.

Hate Speech Detection in Algerian Dialect Using Deep Learning: Related Work

Thawing from a long, cold bear-winter, we enter 2024 riding the emotional hype of last quarter’s price action. Let's welcome Crypto Spring with optimism, curiosity, and arms wide open. Institutions are pilling in. Regulators are warming up. Retail remains mostly uninvolved. Opportunity can be heard in the conversations of crypto-natives discussing the powerful confluence of positive industry tailwinds (“resolving” FTX, clearing out Binance’s Name, etc) and macro events, including the Bitcoin ETF, Bitcoin Halvening, American Presidential Elections, potential yield rate cuts, just to name a few, looking at us in 2024. potential Chinese liquidity injections, A lot of problems are finally behind us, and there are many new ones ahead. Without further ado, let's review some of the exciting expectations in the pipeline for this year: Disclaimer: * These are in no specific order. ** Nothing here is investment advice. *** These are not to be used for making financial decisions. 1. Market Cap Will Double. Market Capitalization is the barometer directly expressing the cryptocurrency industry’s economic value in the world. After hitting all-time highs of roughly ~3 trillion in November 2021, we went on to see lows of ~800 Billion in December 2022 and closed 2023/started 2024 at . ~1.65 Trillion Marketcap growth happens in two ways: (vertically) existing assets rally, or (horizontally) new assets enter the ecosphere. As the eyewatering >500% rallies in Solana, radical influx of alternative digital asset ecosystems such as Celestia, Injective, Mantle, et al. and pipeline of upcoming launches (Manta Pacific, Dymension, etc.) would indicate, the coming cycle will bring an expansion in both directions. Coupled with the asset archetypes that are not included in this measure (such as NFT collections, private on-chain RWA, etc.), there are reflexive economic forces being suppressed, indicating a blossoming for the sector. As we move throughout the year it is highly possible that marketcap will dip below where the year started, perhaps it might even lay dormant/tread sideways for multiple month; but ultimately we will end the year higher than where we began. 2. Rollups Become Industry Driver Scaling and Interoperability have been and will continue to be two of the dominant, existentially important themes in the cryptocurrency/digital asset industry for the next decade. Being an extremely young sector sitting somewhere between the two, with even current leaders, including Arbitrum and Optimism still in the middle of completing configurations (state validations, data availability, withdrawal windows, node incentivization, sequencer decentralization, etc.), Rollups have attracted so much capital, provided so much operational efficiency, and captured such a massive portion of developer mindshare that they have received an . entire market sector of their own Previous layer 1’s and exploring the transition to rollup architectures (such as CELO with promises of being the first to instantiate decentralized sequencer sets); the modular thesis emphasizes the glory of flexibility in choosing where data lives and how it propagates only further supercharging the desire of entrepreneurs to launch new networks. Just like ICOs drove the 2017 rally, NFTs drove the 2021 rally, Rollups will be the technological catalysts that drive the next rally. 3. $BONK overtakes $SHIB Online culture is a fascinating paradigm that is impossible to fully grasp. Landing firmly on the left side of the crypto curve, memes (especially dog-branded memes) are the ephemeral degen plays that turn the average 80 IQ person into a filthy millionaire. Every cycle has a leading dog meme coin, an expression of the newest generation cultural meta; first, we had DOGE, then we had SHIB, and now we have BONK. DOGE had its ~75 Billion USD Marketcap, currently at $11.16 B SHIB saw ~44 Billion USD Marketcap, currently at $5.29 B BONK has so far seen a ~1.5 Billion Marketcap, currently at $0.65 B Deployed as an SPL token on Solana, $BONK is rumored to be run by a team of highly qualified operators who know what they are doing. When compared to the other two dog meme behemoths, BONK is the only one actually generating a phat protocol revenue. Doge likely will not be displaced as the currency king of online dog culture. SHIB on the other hand, has higher fees as an ERC20, a broken initial coming-to-market strategy (with sending Vitalik 50% of the supply…), and a much weaker social presence than some of the newer projects; it is primed to be displaced by a newer better version. 4. Airdrops, lots of Airdrops. Powerful in attracting attention, prompting involvement, and bootstrapping token distribution, airdrops are the ultimate marketing tool in crypto. Already playing out in late 2023 with some gigantic drops in the Solana ecosystem with $JITO and the SAGA phone, as well as within Comos IBC ecosystem IBC with Kujira, Injective, Osmosis, and others; Airdrops will continue to be extremely popular throughout 2024. Celestia staking is considered the holy grail (very interesting to see what comes of this). Polkadot has been silent during these layer wars; possible that this silence will translate into a surplus of airdrops as the ecosystem tries to catch up. Regardless of where exactly these Airdrops come from, there are two things we can expect with a high degree of certainty: first, they will likely be tithed to a point system; second, they can be ridiculously lucrative. 5. Ethereum Will Outperform Bitcoin. Again. Ethereum has been slightly lagging behind the market in terms of price performance. Actually, the lagging has been pretty serious. While Bitcoin has grown by ~158% over the last 365 days, the MarketCap grew by ~110%, Ethereum has run roughly ~77%. This underperformance has ignited a lot of negativity against ETH on social media platforms. Bashing and hate are a perfect counter-indicator for putting on a trade. With an ETH ETF on the horizon, it's not impossible that a hate rally is in store. After the BTC ETF hype is juiced out, people will need somewhere else to look. 6. RWA Narrative Collapses Massive. Enormous. Gargantuan market size. Endorsement from tradfi megalodons like BlackRock. The Real World Asset sector caught some attention during the bear winter, and some of the projects in that space saw face-melting gains, including (>3,650%) and (>150%). RIO NXRA Due to the unavoidable links to legacy financial infrastructure, RWA’s will have minimal (if any) benefits to the public cryptocurrency sector. Likely to be primarily private market deals that are subject to similar regulatory scrutiny, RWA’s might need to take a backseat and allow more public sectors to gain traction. Moreover, RWA’s don't possess any new breakthroughs; the sector is literally just legacy finance on blockchain-based rails. As we know already, privacy and compliance with local jurisdictions might render RWA’s still a tad too early. 7. DEFI will be Reborn Being the sector expecting the heaviest regulatory headwinds has likely been a major contributing factor to DEFI’s relative underperformance. To be fair, Decentralized Finance never really died but, as measured by global TVL, has yet to show serious signs of recovery. With a multitude of exciting technical breakthroughs happening with leaders like SNX and UNI, coupled with the operational benefits of rollups and proto-dank sharding via the Dancun upgrade coming to Ethereum, it is a matter of time before on-chain yields become too attractive for people to pass on and the reflexive cycle begins to fulfill itself. It is almost impossible to know for certain how exactly the TVL will shore up (in new projects or old ones) or where it will shore up(EVM, Cosmos, Solana, or all of them at once), but regardless, not having some kind of exposure would likely render a portfolio suboptimal. 8. Venture Capital will Grow The amount of venture capital investment into the crypto space has been on a steady decline since the 2021/2022 hype top. Declining prices, dwindling interest, and increasing regulatory scrutiny have driven capital away. Sparked by progress in the courtrooms, price appreciation, and the realization of inescapable macro liquidity shifts, VCs have once again begun to show interest in crypto. In 2021, roughly ~29 Billion USD came in. In 2022, roughly ~34 Billion USD came in. In 2023, that number plummeted to ~11 Billion. With the lowest quarter being marked in Q3 of 2023, Q4 saw a slight uptick, and moving forward, we anticipate seeing a trend reversal. Concrete numbers are undefined, but total sums greater than 2023 are highly likely. To be clear, large VC investments do not immediately translate to price rallies, but they do serve as a good signal for what can be anticipated in the near future. 9. New Sovereign Nation BTC Adoption El Salvador has set quite the example with its Bitcoin operations. The incredible international attention the country received for its forward-thinking policies has invited new migrants, stimulated tech startups, and even bolstered its balance sheet. Coming out of multiple decades of debt, El Salvador is positioned to continue strengthening its economy perpetually by earning value through its volcanic mining as well as the appreciation of BTC that it buys on the open markets. It is very possible that other nations will recognize the powerful promises of sovereignty BTC carries and will declare economic alignment with it. Which nations this will be is anybody's guess, but South America, Africa, and Asia might have some clues. 10. Emerging Markets Lead Growth America is known for being the king of capital. Consumers spend more money here than nations elsewhere earn. Throughout the earliest years of crypto, it was American Capital that drove the industry into new higher highs; however, the ridiculous regulatory stance in the US has given emerging markets a chance to capture and control the growth of crypto. The open, inviting atmosphere and some degree of regulatory clarity have positioned Asia (HK and Singapore specifically), the EU, and the UAE to drive the next wave of retail adoption. Predicting what/how/why something will happen in crypto is a fool’s game; many attempts will be proven wrong, and many others will turn out to be right but poorly timed. Specifics are nearly impossible to nail down, but being directionally correct is very possible. That is what these predictions should outline: a possible roadmap/framework for thinking about how the industry will continue to mature this year. The only thing that is certain, Is the uncertainty. Now go forth with unrelenting vigilance, tranquility, and peace; Take your slice of the kingdom. Live long & propser 🥂

2024 Just Might Be The Year Crypto Enthusiasts Are Looking For

2024 কেবল সেই বছর হতে পারে যা ক্রিপ্টো উত্সাহীরা খুঁজছেন৷

2024 könnte das Jahr sein, nach dem Krypto-Enthusiasten suchen

2024 podría ser el año que buscan los entusiastas de las criptomonedas

2024 pourrait bien être l’année recherchée par les passionnés de cryptographie

2024 वह वर्ष हो सकता है जिसकी क्रिप्टो उत्साही लोग तलाश कर रहे हैं

2024 年はまさに仮想通貨愛好家が求めている年になるかもしれません

2024년은 암호화폐 애호가들이 찾는 해가 될 수도 있습니다

2024 pode ser o ano que os entusiastas da criptografia estão procurando

2024 год может стать годом, который ищут криптоэнтузиасты

2024 Kripto Meraklılarının Aradığı Yıl Olabilir

Năm 2024 có thể là năm mà những người đam mê tiền điện tử đang tìm kiếm

2024 年可能是加密货币爱好者期待的一年

We held a council, to decide on our future movements

As we navigate the evolving terrains of the global financial ecosystem, international remittances, particularly to countries with moderate and low incomes, stand out due to their escalating significance. Fresh data from the World Bank indicates a forecasted rise of $656 billion in remittances for LMICs in 2023, showcasing a modest growth of 1.4%. Such an increase underscores the tenacity of these money flows even in the face of economic downturns in countries where migrants originate. Looking back at 2022, there was an unexpected 8% hike in remittances, aggregating to $647 billion. Factors propelling this rise included elevated oil rates in the GCC, dominant transfers from Russia towards Central Asia, and a resilient workforce in prominent nations such as the U.S. Region-wise, while areas like Europe and Central Asia experienced a 19% leap, the Middle East and North Africa saw a 3.8% decline. In terms of recipient giants, India topped the list by drawing in $111 billion in 2022, trailed by countries like Mexico, China, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Interestingly, in nations like Tajikistan (51% of GDP), Tonga (44%), and Lebanon (36%), remittances formed a pivotal chunk of their total GDP. However, challenges persist. The process of executing these remittances has its setbacks. The average fee for sending $200 worldwide saw a minor climb from 6% in the previous year to 6.2% by the end of 2022. This is in sharp contrast to the aspirational 3% target set by the Sustainable Development Goals. Conventional banks emerged as the priciest mediums for these transactions, incurring a staggering 11.8% fee. On the brighter side, mobile transfers, despite being a fraction of total operations at less than 1%, remained a cost-friendly option at 4.5%. With global cross-border transfers witnessing growing demand and the existing infrastructure appearing slow and costly, what's the way forward? Might blockchain present a transformative answer to streamline and democratize these transactions? Why Are Remittance Transactions Priced So High? So, why are the remittance costs so high? One of the main reasons of the ever elevating pricing is the deep-rooted reliance on cash. When individuals send or receive money, it's often done using physical cash, necessitating transfer services to maintain a robust network of physical points, from storefronts to kiosks. The operational expenses of these points, whether in the form of agent commissions, rents, or other overheads, get passed down to the consumer, raising transaction costs. Further complexities arise from our global cross-border payment infrastructure. Especially when sending money to countries with nascent financial systems, there’s a labyrinthine network of intermediaries involved. Each additional step or entity adds a layer of cost. Moreover, the remittance process for small sums can be disproportionately costly, indicating glaring inefficiencies in the current system. Regulation, while crucial for preventing financial integrity, also comes at a price. Adhering to a gamut of regulatory and compliance measures puts a financial strain on transfer operators. With banks becoming increasingly wary, many have severed ties with certain operators, a phenomenon known as de-risking. This, combined with varied registration requirements across different countries, further escalates the cost. Lastly, the competitive landscape of the remittance industry plays a crucial role. In scenarios where a few major players dominate, often due to exclusive partnerships or high market concentration, fees get inflated. The absence of healthy competition means there's little incentive for these big operators to reduce costs. Is There a Ray of Hope in Cost Reduction? Mobile money offers a more affordable means of remittance. Studies have shown that transferring funds via mobile money platforms can be substantially cheaper than using traditional methods. As more people globally embrace mobile-based financial solutions, there's a plethora of new digital payment opportunities. However, it's essential to understand that while mobile money offers promise, it hasn't achieved global ubiquity. Cash remains dominant in regions like Asia and Africa, indicating a behavioral trend where digital remittances are often converted to cash. Local payment systems are limited geographically. Travelling the world, you won’t be able to cash out the amount you need in every part of the planet. They are also very centralized. Being monopolized by Paypal and Revolut, the market for local smaller projects gets limited within the borders of their country of origin and does not get wide adoption. Blockchain technology is creating waves with its potential to be a game-changer in the remittance sector. Its decentralized nature promises to significantly trim down intermediaries, promising faster transaction times and reduced costs. While cryptocurrencies were the initial flag bearers showcasing blockchain's prowess, the technology's scope extends far beyond, offering solutions that could potentially overhaul existing payment challenges. As we venture further into this digital age, blockchain may hold the key to making remittances more efficient and affordable. The Future of Cross-Border Money Transfers: Blockchain's Role The recent surge in the adoption of digital currencies has presented innovative solutions to age-old remittance issues. Interviews with industry experts converge on the view that cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, particularly when used as bridge assets in remittance transactions, can drastically reduce associated costs. Imagine a scenario where a worker in the United States sends money to the Philippines. Instead of traditional channels, the worker uses a service that first changes the dollars to a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Upon reaching the Philippines, this cryptocurrency is then converted into the local peso. This doesn't mean the recipient gets cryptocurrency; rather, it is used behind the scenes to facilitate the transaction. The model is simple: a sender uses a service to deposit the remittance, and a receiver-end service handles the payout. Cryptocurrency is the middleman, ensuring a more direct transfer. However, one challenge surfaces when the recipient's service doesn't have enough of the local currency on hand to complete the conversion. Thus, the success of these models largely hinges on the accessibility of "last-mile" services that facilitate conversions to local currency. Yet, using cryptocurrencies isn't devoid of challenges. Volatility is a primary concern. This challenge makes stablecoins and central bank digital currencies more appealing as alternative bridge assets. While cryptocurrencies promise streamlined remittance transfers, blockchain technology also holds the potential to overhaul the "Know Your Customer" (KYC) requirements – a significant cost driver for cross-border transactions. Banks are mandated to verify customer identities to curb money laundering and terrorist financing, but the current KYC processes are cumbersome, expensive, and riddled with redundancies. Blockchain can change this. Furthermore, blockchain promises to redefine settlement and correspondent banking. The labyrinthine nature of cross-border payments, marked by numerous intermediaries, invariably escalates costs. Leveraging blockchain in this realm aims to liberate this trapped liquidity and diminish associated fees. Organizations like Ripple, IBM, and SWIFT are exploring blockchain-based solutions for settlement. For instance, Ripple envisions replacing the current correspondent banking system, assuring swifter transactions at lower costs. Similarly, IBM's Blockchain World Wire seeks to revolutionize cross-border transactions using the Stellar network. However, despite these strides, the broad-scale application of blockchain in remittance remains a work in progress. Challenges linked to speed, computational costs, and technical hurdles must be surmounted for blockchain to outpace the present systems in efficiency. The realm of remittances and cross-border payments stands at a pivotal juncture. With traditional systems revealing their limitations in terms of costs, speed, and overall efficiency, the introduction of blockchain technology has been eyed as a potential solution. As this review underscores, notable entities such as BitPesa, Ripple, and IBM have delved into this sphere, each with varying degrees of success. For now, the solution might be to combine various tools like centralized crypto exchanges and on-chain transactions, as well as peer-to-peer solutions to come up with the one that suits you. One emergent solution that holds promise is Bitbanker.org. The set of financial primitives is gathered under one roof. With its diversified range of transactional methods, Bitbanker stands as a beacon of modernization in this sector. It not only supports conventional cryptocurrency withdrawals and deposits but also allows for fiat transactions in specific jurisdictions such as Dubai, Armenia, Turkey, and Kyrgyzstan. The inclusion of P2P transfers amplifies its potential to revolutionize how individuals transfer and receive money. Yet, when juxtaposed with the current remittance solutions, platforms like Bitbanker.org distinctly tilt the balance in favor of more streamlined, efficient, and cost-effective alternatives. As the global financial landscape continues to evolve, it remains crucial for stakeholders to remain adaptable, integrating solutions like Bitbanker and continually assessing the broader impacts and potential of blockchain technology in reshaping the remittance industry.

The Digital Transformation of Money Transfers

According to , the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development, remittances from migrants to their home communities—are projected to increase from US$791 billion in 2021 to US$840 billion by the end of 2023. This trend underscores the vital role remittances play in global finance, particularly for Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), excluding China. KNOMAD Developing Economies Benefit the Most from Remittance In 2022, the countries for remittance inflow were: top five recipient India (US$111 billion), Mexico (US$61 billion), China (US$51 billion), Philippines (US$38 billion), and Pakistan (US$30 billion). While remittances are primarily private funds and not a substitute for public spending, they do benefit the economy by enabling recipients to actively participate in the consumer market. After all, when people spend these funds for domestic consumption, it serves as a significant boost to the national economy. The Traditional Remittance Landscape The World Bank calculates the received as a segment of a country's GDP, clearly establishing that personal remittances do, in fact, comprise a noteworthy portion of many nations' GDP. percentage share of personal remittances Albania sources more than 9% of its GDP from personal remittances, whereas, in Armenia’s case, the figure is more than 10%. In El Salvador, remittances constitute almost 27% of the country’s GDP, and for Georgia, it's nearly 17%. Given remittance’s role in uplifting the standards of living of a large segment of the global population, it must happen seamlessly. However, the traditional modes of remittances do not always ensure so. This is due to several key challenges, such as high transaction costs, low speed, limited access to financial services, and lack of transparency. Fixing these loopholes is crucial for the growth and efficiency of the global remittance market. High Transaction Fees In November 2022, the IMF revealing how high transaction costs in remittances negatively affect recipients. published a study As per the study, the global average of remittance transaction fees - as a share of a US$200 remittance - has been nearly US$7.5 worldwide. But in many Southern African countries, such as Angola, Botswana, and Namibia, the fees are 2.5 times the sample average, owing to high exchange rate margins. Apart from an existing imbalance, some countries witnessed a widening of the gap as well. Remittance transaction fees increased by more than 40 percent in countries like Gambia, Afghanistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic between 2016 and 2020. Overall, there is significant heterogeneity in remittance transaction fees globally, as many countries pay a lot more to receive funds from outside than the global average. Yet, high fees aren't the only challenge affecting remittance flows. Transaction Delays Delays in overseas fund transfers also pose challenges to those on the receiving end of remittances. However, factors contributing to these delays are often beyond the control of the beneficiaries. For example, banks have cut-off times for transactions, a factor further complicated by the varying public holidays observed in different regions. Moreover, the methods for sending funds can vary by country, with financial institutions requiring extra time for anti-fraud and anti-money laundering checks. What further exacerbates these delays is often a lack of clear information, introducing another layer of complexity: a lack of transparency. Lack of Transparency The World Bank that sending remittances is unnecessarily confusing, with several independent researchers backing the claim. acknowledged One such shows that 55% of American consumers understand the costs of sending money abroad, but only 18% can correctly identify exchange rates as one of those costs. Echoing this, the World Bank identifies a lack of transparency as the single most important factor leading to high remittance prices. The components of these prices are multifaceted, involving variables like upfront fees and FX margins. research Unbanked, Underbanked Population & Their Plight While transaction delays, high costs, and lack of transparency are mostly infrastructural pitfalls, a large chunk of the global population is bereft of the basic minimum access to banking. According to a World Bank published in July 2022, nearly 1.4 billion adults worldwide remain unbanked. Alarmingly, these adults are usually women, poorer, less educated, and live in rural areas. report Cryptocurrencies: A Potential Game-Changer From the outset, cryptocurrencies have been designed to achieve financial inclusion. They utilize blockchain-enabled smart contracts to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions with minimal need for intermediaries. This not only reduces transaction costs but also accelerates the process. Smart contracts further enable direct loan agreements between lenders and beneficiaries, while asset holders can efficiently invest their idle assets for returns. Collectively, these automated applications represent a transformative shift in the financial sector. Similarly, blockchain and cryptocurrency-based systems have democratically restructured financial transactions. By eliminating the need for centralized, cost-bearing authorities, they have made financial systems more decentralized, inclusive, and equitable. Decentralization Through Blockchain: Impact on the Remittance Market Blockchain-enabled, intermediary-free peer-to-peer transfers can significantly lower transaction costs. In fact, data shows that these crypto transactions can cost as little as 0.01% to 0.10% of the total amount, making them up to than traditional methods. 127 times cheaper To understand the greater economic ramifications, let us take the case of Kenya, for . example Kenya: A Case Study for Remittance Benefits In Kenya, where the average cost to send $200 is over 8.7%, remittances made up 3.5% of the GDP in 2021, totaling $3.7 billion. Lowering these costs to around 2% could have saved the country over US$200 million, equivalent to 0.22% of its GDP. But it's not just about economic savings - crypto remittances also offer significantly better speed. Moreover, since crypto transactions do not require banking institutions to mediate, they can spread to regions with very limited banking infrastructure. All one needs is access to a healthy internet system. This benefit is particularly relevant considering that global banking network distribution is not at all homogeneous. Against this backdrop of unequal banking access, low cost of remittance transactions, better speed, and improved accessibility & inclusion make cryptocurrencies a compelling solution. As a testament to its growing relevance in remittance, crypto adoption is visibly on the rise in many countries worldwide. Real-World Applications and Case Studies Latin America Remittance payments are fueling crypto adoption in Latin America, leading to a 40% surge in value, which reached $562 billion from July 2021 to June 2022. This adoption is further driven by regional economic factors, such as high inflation rates and weakening national currencies. In response, crypto users in the region are increasingly turning to stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to the price of stable currencies like the USD—as a practical solution. Africa’s Growing Cryptocurrency Remittance Market Africa has significantly adopted cross-border blockchain remittance, driven in part by limited access to formal banking systems and poor financial inclusion. This has led to rapid growth in the cryptocurrency remittance market across the continent. Supporting this trend, the International Monetary Fund reports that Africa is one of the fastest-growing crypto markets globally, with transactions reaching US$20 billion per month in 2021. This growth is most evident in countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, which boast the highest number of users among African nations. Crypto Remittance Scenario in Asia Pacific In the Pacific, has gained significant traction as a crypto-based solution in Australia. This success is not just anecdotal, as remittance has emerged as a vital use case in Australian digital asset markets, where Ripple's XRP often leads trading volumes on some of the country's top exchanges. Ripple remittance Shifting the focus to Asia, digital fund transfer services are also on the rise here. Strike, for instance, has partnered with a bunch of local businesses that connect Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to local banking services, including Pouch in the Philippines and GetBit in Vietnam. These collaborations underscore the growing fusion of traditional financial systems with cryptocurrencies across Asia. Crypto Remittance Using Blockchain at a Global Level: Challenges and Considerations While crypto remittance has successfully emerged as an alternative to traditional modes of international money transfer, it faces challenges, such as volatility, regulatory pressures, and the need for increased awareness, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Volatility Concerns In some countries like Venezuela, the national currency, such as the Bolivar, has proven even more volatile than Bitcoin. Here, the crypto-economy, with solutions such as stablecoins, has managed to offer far lower volatility levels. Yet volatility is a hurdle in most countries, as even the Bitcoin prices - the representative asset of the crypto-economy have been a topsy-turvy ride over the past year and more. Regulatory Pressure Regulatory pressures pose another significant barrier to adoption. For instance, around 20% of sub-Saharan African countries have banned crypto assets—countries that would, ironically, benefit the most from crypto remittance. Lack of Crypto Awareness Finally, crypto education is not yet up to the mark to encourage a significant segment of the global population to adopt digital assets as a means of international fund transfer. In fact, even among those who have adopted crypto, many are doubtful of its safety and reliability. The Future of Global Remittances In a realm where global remittances could surpass by 2023, cryptocurrencies are emerging as the technological marvel poised to reform conventional money transfers, particularly benefiting developing economies. This stands in sharp contrast to existing systems, which have been hamstrung by a plethora of challenges, including costly fees, sluggish transactions, and obscurity, not to mention the millions without access to basic financial services. $840 billion As blockchain-backed digital currencies promise to slash fees, expedite transactions, and enhance transparency, their real-world utility in remittance services is becoming evident in various regions, from Latin America and Africa to the Asia-Pacific. However, this positive trajectory comes with its own set of barriers like market volatility, regulatory constraints, and limited public familiarity. Despite these challenges, upcoming tech innovations are poised to further simplify and enhance crypto-based remittances, putting the market on track for substantial growth. This signals a tangible leap toward better efficiency, affordability, and financial inclusion globally, but one that will still necessitate a concerted effort among policymakers, regulators, and the crypto industry to overcome lingering obstacles. Also published . here

How Cryptocurrencies Transform the Global Remittance Landscape 

Did you know that AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney are revolutionizing industries and transforming how we interact with technology? With the increasing popularity and widespread use of AI, it's no wonder that skeptics and naysayers have voiced concerns about their effectiveness and potential threats. However, in this piece, we will explore the numerous benefits and positive impact of disruptive technologies such as blockchain and AI on various aspects of society. AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney offer specific benefits and advantages in various industries or sectors. For instance, ChatGPT can understand natural language and retrieve relevant information, enabling customer service chatbots to respond to queries efficiently. Midjourney can optimize marketing campaigns by analyzing customer data and personalized targeting, leading to increased customer engagement and brand loyalty. Real-life examples or case studies showcase the positive outcomes achieved using these tools. For instance, a revealed that 82% of customers were satisfied with their chatbot experience. National Business Research Institute survey Additionally, AI tools can enhance productivity, efficiency, and decision-making processes, leading to cost savings and improved customer experiences. According to , Blockchain’s immutable digital records may be a way to offer insights into AI’s framework and model to address the challenge of transparency and data integrity. Sharon Yang, CFA A critical benefit of blockchain technology is that it provides transparency and accountability in the decision-making process of AI. . Blockchain enables an immutable and auditable record of an AI system's transactions and actions This allows the public to see how decisions are made and ensure they are fair and unbiased. Additionally, the blockchain's transparency can help build trust in AI-powered systems, which is crucial for the public to accept and adopt these technologies. Furthermore, blockchain can also help . Traditional centralized systems often collect and store large amounts of personal data without the consent or knowledge of the individuals. protect the privacy of individuals by giving them control over their data AI and DAOs: A perfect mix? One of the main benefits of incorporating blockchain technology into AI is that it can . help to create decentralized, autonomous organizations (DAOs) A DAO is a on a blockchain network. These contracts can be programmed to execute tasks automatically and make decisions based on predefined rules and inputs. digital organization powered by smart contracts from Ocean Protocol believes that AI DAOs facilitate access to resources, the ability to amass more resources, and the possibility that humans can’t control them once they’re going. Trent McConaghy By using blockchain to create DAOs, AI can automate repetitive tasks and create new opportunities for work and income. For example, a DAO powered by AI could automate mundane tasks such as data entry, customer service, or financial transactions. This would free human workers to focus on more creative and fulfilling tasks. Additionally, by creating a decentralized system, the blockchain allows for a fairer distribution of wealth and power, where many people can participate in decision-making. What are some other use cases for AI and Blockchain technology? AI and blockchain can positively impact the banking, healthcare, supply chain, and energy industries. For example, blockchain technology can make . global supply chains more traceable, efficient, and trustworthy At the same time, AI can optimize various logistics processes to ensure optimal delivery times and minimize the waste of resources. In healthcare, blockchain can provide a secure platform for . sharing medical data with the patient's consent and enable AI applications that can assist with diagnosing and predicting diseases AI can automate the execution of smart contracts on a blockchain network. For example, an AI system could automatically execute an intelligent contract when certain conditions are met, such as payment receipt or task completion. When exploring predictive analytics, AI can analyze the data on a blockchain network and predict future trends or events. For example, an AI system could predict the price of a cryptocurrency based on historical data and market conditions, much like the . CryptoForcast app on iOS and Android For example, an AI system could use facial recognition or biometric data to confirm an individual's identity before allowing them to access a blockchain-based service. AI could also be used to verify the identities of individuals on a blockchain network. In the world of Web3, , where businesses can purchase and use the models to improve their operations. AI models can be trained and sold on blockchain-based marketplaces Concerning governance, AI-based governance mechanisms have been proposed to automate decision-making processes in blockchain-based organizations. These mechanisms can include AI-based voting systems and AI-based budget allocation systems. Integrating blockchain and AI tools internationally can optimize . processes and increase transparency, fairness, and accountability in international legal migration The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs has developed -  a one-stop solution for migrants and accredited migration practitioners by automating the processing of migration applications. Migranet It assists refugees with a skills assessment to integrate them into their host countries post-selection subject to existing national legislation and regulations. The platform will . This will improve speed, fairness, accuracy, and accountability throughout the global migration system. facilitate a fraud-free, corruption-free, and affordable means of migrating and/or traveling transparently and securely Can AI be exploited to manipulate blockchain technology? The short answer is yes; AI can certainly be exploited in the following ways: Sybil attacks AI can create multiple identities (Sybils) on a blockchain network, disrupting network operations or manipulating the outcome of decentralized decision-making processes. Blockchain networks can implement identity verification mechanisms such as proof-of-work or proof-of-stake to mitigate Sybil attacks. Additionally, reputation systems can be used to assign trust scores to identities on the network, making it more difficult for Sybils to gain a foothold. Smart Contract Exploitation AI can automatically identify and exploit vulnerabilities in smart contracts. This can allow malicious actors to steal funds or disrupt the operation of decentralized applications (dApps) built on the blockchain. Blockchain networks can implement to mitigate exploitation. Additionally, smart contract audits can be performed by third-party organizations to identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. AI can be used to predict the prices of cryptocurrencies or other assets on a blockchain network. However, if the predictions are manipulated, it can lead to market manipulation and destabilization. smart contract verification and testing mechanisms Blockchain networks can implement mechanisms such as oracles that provide external data feeds to smart contracts. Additionally, using multiple oracles and having a mechanism to validate them can discourage manipulation. AI can analyze the . This can be a privacy invasion, mainly if the data is used for malicious purposes. transaction data on a blockchain network and potentially identify users' identities Barriers to Applying AI to Blockchain Integrating AI and blockchain technology can be technically complex. There must be established standards for integrating AI and blockchain. This can make it difficult for developers to create systems that are compatible with each other and can lead to fragmentation in the ecosystem. Both technologies have challenges and limitations, and combining them can make the process even more challenging. AI systems require much data to train and improve performance. However, the data on a blockchain network is often limited and may need higher quality. This can make it difficult for AI systems to function effectively. Both blockchain and AI technologies have scalability issues. AI algorithms require a lot of computational power, and the . Improving the scalability of these technologies is crucial to enable the integration of AI with blockchain. decentralized nature of blockchain can lead to slow transaction processing speeds AI and blockchain are relatively new technologies, and regulations surrounding them are still being developed. This can make it difficult for businesses and organizations to navigate the legal landscape and inhibit the adoption of these technologies. As AI and blockchain both deal with sensitive data, ensuring the privacy and security of the users are crucial. However, it needs to be clarified how these two technologies will interact regarding privacy and security, an open research area. Despite these barriers, many companies and researchers are working on solutions to overcome them. As the technology matures and the ecosystem evolves, these barriers will likely be addressed, and the application of AI to blockchain technology will become more widespread. Harnessing the Power of AI and Decentralization for a Better World AI and blockchain have the potential to revolutionize various industries and create decentralized, transparent, and accountable systems. However, there are concerns about AI's negative impacts and exploitations in blockchain technology. We can mitigate these exploitations by implementing identity verification, smart contract automation, and data privacy-enhancing technologies. As the field is still new, more use cases and applications are expected to emerge, and developers, researchers, and regulators must be aware of the potential risks and continuously improve the security of the systems to harness the power of AI and blockchain for the greater good. is Laura Marissa Cullell an MA Graduate of the UN University for Peace in International Law and Human Rights. She wrote her thesis on Blockchain and the Sustainable Development Goals: Utilizing Disruptive Technologies to Promote Human Rights, Peace, and Good Governance. Currently, she is working in Comms/as a degen in the world of Web3. She loves puns, cookie dough, glitter, and reading an obscene amount of books at the speed of light.

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