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The company’s shares closed yesterday at $3.91. According to TipRanks, Jeffries is an analyst with an average return of -15.6% and a 26.56% success rate. Jeffries covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as Tyler Technologies, Wix ...

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The Find N2 Flip is a direct competitor to Samsung’s Z Flip devices in that it’s a smartphone-size device that can fold down when you need it to be more compact. But its uniqu

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Artificial intelligence

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Tim Estes has seen the future of AI. It has a dark side.

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The Business Journals

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The Australian Financial Review

https://t.co/W2SFxIXkC4 covers life in the future.

It’s been over a year since COVID-19 appeared, and it’s still painfully apparent that this crisis is far from over. In fact, it may even trigger the largest economic change since World War Two. According to Arthur D. Little, a management consultancy firm, COVID-19 has been the impetus for an from a resources-driven to technology-focused economic model, one where the principles of “green” and tech go hand-in-hand. economic shift In essence, it will be data, not natural resources, which plays the fundamental role in keeping the global economy running. One possible implication of this is a full-scale transition to a digital economy. Data will be the fuel which powers our lives – and emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart technologies will have to hit the ground running. Having accepted this revolutionary but inevitable change, it will be more vital than ever to keep personal data safe from malware, cybertheft, ransomware, and all other security threats that have become pervasive . Unfortunately, as sad experience shows, data breaches were not uncommon even pre-pandemic. Among the deluge of recent cases, the one that proved landscape-changing was the Cambridge Analytica scandal – not only because it vividly exposed unauthorized use of data by Facebook, but because it triggered a chain reaction of privacy regulations across the world, the most infamous of which is the General Data Protection Policy . The general notion was that data should be handled more securely, and consumers should have the right to decide for themselves how their data should be handled. during COVID-19 (GDPR) Though it’s been three years since advanced data security practices became infused into the everyday normal, in practice they are rarely effective against metadata attacks — typical encryption practices are no guaranteed safeguard against higher-level cybersecurity menaces. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and that’s where , often cited as a crucial element of any future economic system, may play a decisive role in restructuring the global economy. By providing a decentralized, trustless solution, blockchain not only provides a buffer against data security pitfalls by guaranteeing unparalleled data security, it also discards the flawed data flows that have throughout the pandemic. Further properties such as scalability and full accessibility from any point of earth, bolster confidence that this technology will underpin the new era of data management. blockchain threatened to grind to a halt Binance, the world’s #1 crypto-exchange by volume, would doubtless agree with this vision of a blockchain-based future for data privacy. Realizing that the howl for strengthening data privacy can no longer go unheard, with the help of Binance Labs, its right-hand responsible for innovation, it a recent investment cycle with a data security project called . HOPR stands at the forefront of Web3 blockchain-led internet transformation, a network-level infrastructure project pledging to return data control back to users, while at the same time providing a previously unattainable level of metadata security. Thus, HOPR hopes to provide a bridge to the next-stage tech economy, where the disadvantages of corporate-led Web 2.0 and its infamous data privacy leaks will be replaced by next-generation blockchain-driven solutions. kicked off HOPR Much more than that, HOPR is also a peer-to-peer network which to entrust the reins of decision-making to its community, via the decentralized HOPR Association. In exchange for running nodes in the global HOPR mixnet which provides metadata-secure data transfer (a process dubbed as “hopping”), every user can earn rewards in the platform’s native cryptocurrency, the HOPR token. The HOPR network consists of the message layer, which enables safe and private communication through metadata-secure pathways, and the payment layer which provides staking and network rewards for HOPR token holders. plans A privacy-based solution in a similar vein to VPNs, HOPR brings a long-sought-after element of decentralization that promises to become the cornerstone of the new data economy, laying the groundwork for the future developments in the field. Seizing the opportunity to interview , , I used this chance to find out more about innovation, cybersecurity, data privacy, as well as the fundamentals of the new global data economy. Dr Sebastian Bürgel Founder of HOPR Andrey Sergeenkov: Hi, many thanks for sparing some time for our conversation. For a warm-up, let’s start with the question – how do you see the evolution of the future trends of the economy? Is it changing for better or worse? Things are challenging right now, but I’m optimistic for the future. Even before the pandemic, people were increasingly dissatisfied with the Web 2.0 model of the internet and the power wielded by monoliths like Google and Facebook. Dr Sebastian Bürgel: This dissatisfaction has only accelerated since COVID-19, and we’re seeing a real groundswell of interest in decentralized approaches, from both users and companies. You only have to look at the excitement in the crypto markets during a global recession to see the potential people see there. If you’re a company, it’s important not to get swept up in all the hype of data being the new oil. Sure, if you’re a huge platform like Google or Facebook, almost all data is inherently valuable to you, and you’ll have the resources to secure it. . One crucial advantage of a system like HOPR is not just that it gives users greater control of their data, it also lets companies collect only the data they need. Companies who have a robust data policy and who really think hard about what data they do and don’t need to gather are most likely to thrive. Andrey Sergeenkov: What are the most essential qualities for succeeding in this new environment? Is the future fundamentally technology driven, or are there other factors we should consider? Dr Sebastian Bürgel: But if you’re a smaller company, new regulation means data is just as likely to be a liability as an asset Andrey Sergeenkov: In which ways, primarily, can the data become the currency of the 21st century? In what ways can users capitalize on this — and do you think users themselves will be ever able to tokenize it? I don’t think the naive dream of individual users monetizing their data is ever going to come to pass. Most data isn’t actually that valuable. Huge platforms like Facebook harvest it now because they can, and because it’s currently low risk and low cost. So why not? Once you start forcing them to put a price on all that, or to distribute their ad revenue to individual users, I think you’ll find they decide most of it is worthless. Dr Sebastian Bürgel: Which isn’t to say there’s not smart things to be done with data at the individual level, but I actually think the data privacy revolution will show everyone that the answer is to use far less data much more smartly, and finally wean ourselves off of our indiscriminate data addiction. I think we’re going to see a lot more decentralized versions of things we think of as fundamental parts of the Internet, smaller versions of the huge platforms which currently have all the power. Once we break the data silos and return control to users, it’s much easier for these small nimble services to exist and interoperate. Building on that, I don’t think there will be a single data and information space. Quite the opposite. I think . Andrey Sergeenkov: What are the core areas of the economy you will see expanding most? Do you see a future where there’s one single data and information space, where everyone controls their own share? If so, what role will the authorities play in regulating it? Dr Sebastian Bürgel: regulators will have to do a lot of adapting to come up with models of oversight which even make sense in a decentralized digital economy One problem — although I’m not sure I’d call it a threat — with individual control of data is that people have to understand the responsibility that comes with it. Andrey Sergeenkov: What are the biggest future threats to data security, once data becomes fully democratized? In the past, even top-tier exchanges like Binance have been subject to hacks – is there anything that can be done to avoid this in the years ahead? Dr Sebastian Bürgel: As we move to more decentralized platforms, the hacking risks dramatically reduce, but you’ll get more and more cases of people who simply lose access to their data or funds because they don’t understand that there’s no centralized entity to fix everything when things go wrong. There are a lot of tools and tricks that people will already be familiar with, like how to manage passwords safely and so on. Andrey Sergeenkov: How can people start managing their data consciously already today? Can you give a few bits of advice on how to improve data security on a day-to-day basis? Dr Sebastian Bürgel: But I’d say the most important thing is to take data seriously and educate yourself about how much data, and particularly metadata, we leak all the time. Many people think that data privacy doesn’t matter because they have “nothing to hide”, but would you really be happy if someone could see everything you did on the Internet and with your phone (including offline metadata like where your phone is physically located) all day, every day, and stored that information for the rest of time? That’s literally the state of the Internet today. Blockchain is fundamental to Web 3.0 and the decentralized future, but it’s important not to fetishize it. Andrey Sergeenkov: Is blockchain definitely the last word in data security? What are the advantages and disadvantages, and what other technological trends do you foresee? Dr Sebastian Bürgel: Blockchain is slow, expensive, and should be used as a source of truth of last resort. Most modern decentralized applications like HOPR are focused on problems of how to rely on blockchains LESS, not more. The biggest trend I see is ways to scale the blockchain layer and retain its trustless properties while minimizing how much data is actually stored there. One major advantage of Web 3.0 is that everything is open and interoperable, so people don’t always have to reinvent the wheel. It’s actually possible to build decentralized applications fairly quickly, and that’s a great thing. HOPR was slightly different, though, because no-one has really tried to provide this level of decentralized metadata privacy before. We’ve had to build a lot of things from scratch. It’s taken our team of around a dozen people almost a year to get where we are today, not including several years of theoretical work before we could start coding. Andrey Sergeenkov: How long does it take to build a blockchain-based application? How long did it take to build a solution like HOPR? Dr Sebastian Bürgel: Firstly, I’d say non-blockchain based solutions don’t even get a look in here. By definition, you simply can’t get the level of metadata privacy HOPR will provide from a centralized solution. You always have to trust that whoever controls the database won’t be misusing your data and passing it on. Having said that, the blockchain is only a small part of what HOPR does. Companies who need to protect user data and want to use HOPR don’t have to understand about blockchains to get started. In fact, they won’t even notice that it’s underpinned by blockchain technology unless they want to dig into it. Like all good infrastructure, HOPR is designed to work without you having to think about it. Andrey Sergeenkov: As one of the early entrants in the market, how do you ensure you maintain a competitive edge once the race heats up? What is your winning selling point against non-blockchain-based propositions? What are the benefits for anyone who has never used blockchain before to incorporate your solution into their business? Dr Sebastian Bürgel: The HOPR token is being launched by our community in the form of the Genesis DAO, a collection of over 3,000 participants in our earlier testnets. The Genesis DAO opted for a private pre-sale followed by a public distribution via a Balancer pool, a decentralized tool for bootstrapping liquidity. That pool will go live at 14:00 CET on February 24th. Andrey Sergeenkov: What is the date for HOPR’s token launch? How can anyone acquire HOPR tokens before they’re listed on an exchange? Dr Sebastian Bürgel: We’re keeping things decentralized for now, but we expected to be listed on more centralized exchanges in the near future.

On The Verge of Economic Change: An Interview with Dr Sebastian Bürgel

Technology research company Gartner predicts that there will be 20.8 billion connected things in the world by the year 2020, which would equal almost triple the number of humans on our planet. Clearly, the Internet of Things is on the verge of radically changing the core fabric of our communities and the manner in which people live. Although IoT has the potential to make our lives much more efficient and enjoyable in a multitude of ways, many industries are going to have to weather the storm as the disruption takes hold, and there may be sectors that are unable to remain relevant within the rapidly changing landscape. Virtually every industry will feel the effects of the proliferation of IoT in our communities, but there are five sectors that are expected to be hit the hardest by these changes in the short-term. Health Most experts agree that the healthcare industry stands to benefit the most from adopting IoT. However, to date, it has proven to be one of the most delayed industries to put connected technologies into practice. At the same time, the increased prevalence of IoT will be impossible to avoid for much longer, and it is expected that new methods of data sharing will expand significantly over the next few years, including patient-reported health outcomes and data collected from medical devices or wearable hardware. Energy and Utilities Sensor-based communication has been a central component of this sector for years, including smart-meters, which allow companies to read meters via sensors to access real-time usage information. The next logical step will be a “smart-grid” concept, providing customers with the ability to switch between customer-owned renewable energy systems and traditional energy supplies. IoT technology will be critical in developing a smart grid that is adaptable to a variety of energy sources, which is essential in order for the sector to survive the evolving landscape. Retail The incredible growth of e-commerce and online shopping has posed a threat to traditional retailers for approximately a decade. Conversely, the application of recent IoT innovations to traditional brick-and-mortar assets provides the potential for a radical transformation of the retail industry. Combining real-time analytics with RFID and beacon-based technologies carries a wealth of possibilities for the retail sector, such as allowing companies to send push notifications to customers as they walk by the store to tell them about current sales, promotions and special deals, or even make automated checkouts when they leave the store. Transportation There is no question that efficient transportation of both goods and people is a key aspect of the smooth running of any economy or society, with a massive impact on productivity, health and environmental preservation. IoT is poised to disrupt this sector through the creation of transportation systems that are able to sense and respond to changes in real-time, thereby broadening operational efficiencies, improving public safety, and increasing fuel efficiency through capacity analytics. Government IoT technology provides the foundations for the concept of “smart cities,” a term used to describe ways in which technology can be used to create more efficient solutions for communities of people. Fujisawa in Japan is an excellent example of this concept being put into practice. The brainchild of Panasonic, Fujisawa has deployed IoT to use sensors to monitor buses, garbage bins, and automate transport. It is expected that a growing number of governments will start integrating IoT into the core services of cities, thereby utilizing the technology in an increasing percentage of city-run business. Virtually every industry either already has been or is about to be disrupted in one form or the other by the proliferation of IoT in all aspects of our communities, leading to an increasingly efficient and safe world for the future. Written by Igor Ilunin, head of IoT at DataArt .

Top 5 Industries on the Verge of IoT Disruption

In the Bitcoin , Satoshi Nakamoto wrote: "British Chancellor on the verge of a second bailout for banks". It was a cryptic message, but not esoteric. It was the headline in . It is another matter what meant by that message, or what it was later understood that he meant. Let your imagination run wild. There are those who think that it is a proof of date. But, at best, such an insertion would only prove that the first block was created no earlier than that day. So, if , the simplest one, is the best explanation, then it was a wink showing the weaknesses of the fiat money system to, from there, open the mind towards alternative systems as it was—and it is—the Bitcoin. genesis block The Times of January 3, 2009 Satoshi Occam's explanation Humans do not change as long as things go more or less well where "as long as things go more or less well" is but a paraphrase of "as long as things do not give problems". And this is a real and severe problem. Because lost profits ( ) are normally associated with harmful acts (contractual or not), with acts that show emergent damage ( ); but lost profits are also found—and who knows if more often than not and in greater measure—in apparently neutral or efficient acts, in everyday acts and even in illustrious and stupendous acts. In other words: when an act is bad, it is easy to identify a better alternative; but when an act is not bad (which includes good acts), it is taken for granted that there are no better alternatives. lucrum cessans damnum emergens And it is those humans who do not surrender to this—pathetic—pragmatic customaryism who, for better or worse, go down in the annals of history. They are then labeled as geniuses or monsters. But we are not here to say that Satoshi went down in history for his —this is already well known—, nor are we here to assess whether it was for better or worse—that is presumptuous, even though it is still early in terms of historical time. Perhaps in a thousand years, the blockchain will destroy the planet because it destroys the environment, or because it will provoke a world war for energy resources to maintain the networks. Bitcoin Or, maybe in a thousand years, the world will be a magnificent and wonderful place because, thanks to distributed decentralization, a real universal democracy will be established in which there will be no humans dominated by other humans in a top-down power scheme. Who knows if it will be that or this, something halfway or something completely different. Because the paths of the future are infinite and, in the best of cases, we can lay the foundations for it to be a smaller infinite, but not smaller than the transfinite . Nor do we come here to talk about hidden texts in the blockchain—this is enough for a treatise or a long novel. Although we do come to talk about a particular hidden text, one that has been revealed to us under the professional secrecy inherent in the client-attorney relationship. aleph zero Therefore, it should go without saying that we can only tell those things that we have been mandated to tell. All other things will go to the grave with us unless our client changes his mind. And as for the things we can and must tell—that is what we are being paid for—are the revelations of —that is what our client calls himself in order to keep his knowledge safe without endangering his personal safety: @Anarchosatoshi (bitcoin number 21 million) will not be mined but—with absolute certainty—before 2100. of that last bitcoin—with the same absolute certainty—will break all expectations. So much so that it is absurd to try to estimate it. Because at that point, towards the end of mining, Bitcoin will no longer be appreciated as a cryptocurrency, but as a work of art. The last bitcoin around 2140 The price (via services like will ) will grow exponentially until it becomes the general norm. This will also happen before 2100 thanks to the fact that states will adopt their own currencies (stable and non-stable) on the blockchain. So, the business of bitcoiners and other crypto-enthusiasts will be, by then, the business of governments and their administrative apparatuses. Because they do not fight for the unity, transparency, and reliability of the markets, to protect crypto asset users, or things alike. Those are the excuses. They fight—without a doubt—for cryptoassets to be their business, and not the people's business. The use of the blockchain as a payment system NOWPayments At that point Satoshi's dream of creating an alternative and decentralized payment system outside any kind of hierarchical and institutional power will be over. The above (point 2) will lead to the emergence of . will be the state ones, absolutely controlled by a global organization created by all states. Curiously enough, there will be no trouble for the whole international community to agree on this. In them—the first-class ones—everything, absolutely everything, will be registered: identity, amounts, concept, time, place... There will be no data that escapes the distributed registry, by then, a real distributed nightmare. will be decentralized and anonymous, mounted on shared servers in peer-to-peer networks outside the Internet to avoid website shutdowns and blocking by IP geolocation. In these second-rate networks, humans will seek loopholes of freedom and privacy at the risk of being harshly prosecuted by specialized police under very harsh criminal laws. first and second-class blockchain networks The first The second ones In this scenario, will not disappear, but it will be all dirty money used by criminal organizations as the only untraceable means of payment. Ironies of civilization. fiat money Up to this point, we are authorized to report following the express instructions of our principal and in the best defense of his rights and legitimate interests. Manuel Astillero Lawyer, member 83857 of the (Bar Association of Madrid) Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid

The Anarchosatoshi Revelations

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PERMUTATIONS OF SEX

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Another Reputation Ruined Chapter XI. Another Reputation Ruined It was not much more than three‐quarters of a mile from the town to the monastery. Alyosha walked quickly along the road, at that hour deserted. It was almost night, and too dark to see anything clearly at thirty paces ahead. There were cross‐roads half‐way. A figure came into sight under a solitary willow at the cross‐roads. As soon as Alyosha reached the cross‐ roads the figure moved out and rushed at him, shouting savagely: “Your money or your life!” “So it’s you, Mitya,” cried Alyosha, in surprise, violently startled however. “Ha ha ha! You didn’t expect me? I wondered where to wait for you. By her house? There are three ways from it, and I might have missed you. At last I thought of waiting here, for you had to pass here, there’s no other way to the monastery. Come, tell me the truth. Crush me like a beetle. But what’s the matter?” “Nothing, brother—it’s the fright you gave me. Oh, Dmitri! Father’s blood just now.” (Alyosha began to cry, he had been on the verge of tears for a long time, and now something seemed to snap in his soul.) “You almost killed him—cursed him—and now—here—you’re making jokes—‘Your money or your life!’ ” “Well, what of that? It’s not seemly—is that it? Not suitable in my position?” “No—I only—” “Stay. Look at the night. You see what a dark night, what clouds, what a wind has risen. I hid here under the willow waiting for you. And as God’s above, I suddenly thought, why go on in misery any longer, what is there to wait for? Here I have a willow, a handkerchief, a shirt, I can twist them into a rope in a minute, and braces besides, and why go on burdening the earth, dishonoring it with my vile presence? And then I heard you coming—Heavens, it was as though something flew down to me suddenly. So there is a man, then, whom I love. Here he is, that man, my dear little brother, whom I love more than any one in the world, the only one I love in the world. And I loved you so much, so much at that moment that I thought, ‘I’ll fall on his neck at once.’ Then a stupid idea struck me, to have a joke with you and scare you. I shouted, like a fool, ‘Your money!’ Forgive my foolery—it was only nonsense, and there’s nothing unseemly in my soul.... Damn it all, tell me what’s happened. What did she say? Strike me, crush me, don’t spare me! Was she furious?” “No, not that.... There was nothing like that, Mitya. There—I found them both there.” “Both? Whom?” “Grushenka at Katerina Ivanovna’s.” Dmitri was struck dumb. “Impossible!” he cried. “You’re raving! Grushenka with her?” Alyosha described all that had happened from the moment he went in to Katerina Ivanovna’s. He was ten minutes telling his story. He can’t be said to have told it fluently and consecutively, but he seemed to make it clear, not omitting any word or action of significance, and vividly describing, often in one word, his own sensations. Dmitri listened in silence, gazing at him with a terrible fixed stare, but it was clear to Alyosha that he understood it all, and had grasped every point. But as the story went on, his face became not merely gloomy, but menacing. He scowled, he clenched his teeth, and his fixed stare became still more rigid, more concentrated, more terrible, when suddenly, with incredible rapidity, his wrathful, savage face changed, his tightly compressed lips parted, and Dmitri Fyodorovitch broke into uncontrolled, spontaneous laughter. He literally shook with laughter. For a long time he could not speak. “So she wouldn’t kiss her hand! So she didn’t kiss it; so she ran away!” he kept exclaiming with hysterical delight; insolent delight it might have been called, if it had not been so spontaneous. “So the other one called her tigress! And a tigress she is! So she ought to be flogged on a scaffold? Yes, yes, so she ought. That’s just what I think; she ought to have been long ago. It’s like this, brother, let her be punished, but I must get better first. I understand the queen of impudence. That’s her all over! You saw her all over in that hand‐kissing, the she‐devil! She’s magnificent in her own line! So she ran home? I’ll go—ah—I’ll run to her! Alyosha, don’t blame me, I agree that hanging is too good for her.” “But Katerina Ivanovna!” exclaimed Alyosha sorrowfully. “I see her, too! I see right through her, as I’ve never done before! It’s a regular discovery of the four continents of the world, that is, of the five! What a thing to do! That’s just like Katya, who was not afraid to face a coarse, unmannerly officer and risk a deadly insult on a generous impulse to save her father! But the pride, the recklessness, the defiance of fate, the unbounded defiance! You say that aunt tried to stop her? That aunt, you know, is overbearing, herself. She’s the sister of the general’s widow in Moscow, and even more stuck‐up than she. But her husband was caught stealing government money. He lost everything, his estate and all, and the proud wife had to lower her colors, and hasn’t raised them since. So she tried to prevent Katya, but she wouldn’t listen to her! She thinks she can overcome everything, that everything will give way to her. She thought she could bewitch Grushenka if she liked, and she believed it herself: she plays a part to herself, and whose fault is it? Do you think she kissed Grushenka’s hand first, on purpose, with a motive? No, she really was fascinated by Grushenka, that’s to say, not by Grushenka, but by her own dream, her own delusion—because it was her dream, her delusion! Alyosha, darling, how did you escape from them, those women? Did you pick up your cassock and run? Ha ha ha!” “Brother, you don’t seem to have noticed how you’ve insulted Katerina Ivanovna by telling Grushenka about that day. And she flung it in her face just now that she had gone to gentlemen in secret to sell her beauty! Brother, what could be worse than that insult?” What worried Alyosha more than anything was that, incredible as it seemed, his brother appeared pleased at Katerina Ivanovna’s humiliation. “Bah!” Dmitri frowned fiercely, and struck his forehead with his hand. He only now realized it, though Alyosha had just told him of the insult, and Katerina Ivanovna’s cry: “Your brother is a scoundrel!” “Yes, perhaps, I really did tell Grushenka about that ‘fatal day,’ as Katya calls it. Yes, I did tell her, I remember! It was that time at Mokroe. I was drunk, the gypsies were singing.... But I was sobbing. I was sobbing then, kneeling and praying to Katya’s image, and Grushenka understood it. She understood it all then. I remember, she cried herself.... Damn it all! But it’s bound to be so now.... Then she cried, but now ‘the dagger in the heart’! That’s how women are.” He looked down and sank into thought. “Yes, I am a scoundrel, a thorough scoundrel!” he said suddenly, in a gloomy voice. “It doesn’t matter whether I cried or not, I’m a scoundrel! Tell her I accept the name, if that’s any comfort. Come, that’s enough. Good‐by. It’s no use talking! It’s not amusing. You go your way and I mine. And I don’t want to see you again except as a last resource. Good‐ by, Alexey!” He warmly pressed Alyosha’s hand, and still looking down, without raising his head, as though tearing himself away, turned rapidly towards the town. Alyosha looked after him, unable to believe he would go away so abruptly. “Stay, Alexey, one more confession to you alone!” cried Dmitri, suddenly turning back. “Look at me. Look at me well. You see here, here—there’s terrible disgrace in store for me.” (As he said “here,” Dmitri struck his chest with his fist with a strange air, as though the dishonor lay precisely on his chest, in some spot, in a pocket, perhaps, or hanging round his neck.) “You know me now, a scoundrel, an avowed scoundrel, but let me tell you that I’ve never done anything before and never shall again, anything that can compare in baseness with the dishonor which I bear now at this very minute on my breast, here, here, which will come to pass, though I’m perfectly free to stop it. I can stop it or carry it through, note that. Well, let me tell you, I shall carry it through. I shan’t stop it. I told you everything just now, but I didn’t tell you this, because even I had not brass enough for it. I can still pull up; if I do, I can give back the full half of my lost honor to‐morrow. But I shan’t pull up. I shall carry out my base plan, and you can bear witness that I told you so beforehand. Darkness and destruction! No need to explain. You’ll find out in due time. The filthy back‐alley and the she‐ devil. Good‐by. Don’t pray for me, I’m not worth it. And there’s no need, no need at all.... I don’t need it! Away!” And he suddenly retreated, this time finally. Alyosha went towards the monastery. “What? I shall never see him again! What is he saying?” he wondered wildly. “Why, I shall certainly see him to‐morrow. I shall look him up. I shall make a point of it. What does he mean?” He went round the monastery, and crossed the pine‐wood to the hermitage. The door was opened to him, though no one was admitted at that hour. There was a tremor in his heart as he went into Father Zossima’s cell. “Why, why, had he gone forth? Why had he sent him into the world? Here was peace. Here was holiness. But there was confusion, there was darkness in which one lost one’s way and went astray at once....” In the cell he found the novice Porfiry and Father Païssy, who came every hour to inquire after Father Zossima. Alyosha learnt with alarm that he was getting worse and worse. Even his usual discourse with the brothers could not take place that day. As a rule every evening after service the monks flocked into Father Zossima’s cell, and all confessed aloud their sins of the day, their sinful thoughts and temptations; even their disputes, if there had been any. Some confessed kneeling. The elder absolved, reconciled, exhorted, imposed penance, blessed, and dismissed them. It was against this general “confession” that the opponents of “elders” protested, maintaining that it was a profanation of the sacrament of confession, almost a sacrilege, though this was quite a different thing. They even represented to the diocesan authorities that such confessions attained no good object, but actually to a large extent led to sin and temptation. Many of the brothers disliked going to the elder, and went against their own will because every one went, and for fear they should be accused of pride and rebellious ideas. People said that some of the monks agreed beforehand, saying, “I’ll confess I lost my temper with you this morning, and you confirm it,” simply in order to have something to say. Alyosha knew that this actually happened sometimes. He knew, too, that there were among the monks some who deeply resented the fact that letters from relations were habitually taken to the elder, to be opened and read by him before those to whom they were addressed. It was assumed, of course, that all this was done freely, and in good faith, by way of voluntary submission and salutary guidance. But, in fact, there was sometimes no little insincerity, and much that was false and strained in this practice. Yet the older and more experienced of the monks adhered to their opinion, arguing that “for those who have come within these walls sincerely seeking salvation, such obedience and sacrifice will certainly be salutary and of great benefit; those, on the other hand, who find it irksome, and repine, are no true monks, and have made a mistake in entering the monastery—their proper place is in the world. Even in the temple one cannot be safe from sin and the devil. So it was no good taking it too much into account.” “He is weaker, a drowsiness has come over him,” Father Païssy whispered to Alyosha, as he blessed him. “It’s difficult to rouse him. And he must not be roused. He waked up for five minutes, sent his blessing to the brothers, and begged their prayers for him at night. He intends to take the sacrament again in the morning. He remembered you, Alexey. He asked whether you had gone away, and was told that you were in the town. ‘I blessed him for that work,’ he said, ‘his place is there, not here, for awhile.’ Those were his words about you. He remembered you lovingly, with anxiety; do you understand how he honored you? But how is it that he has decided that you shall spend some time in the world? He must have foreseen something in your destiny! Understand, Alexey, that if you return to the world, it must be to do the duty laid upon you by your elder, and not for frivolous vanity and worldly pleasures.” Father Païssy went out. Alyosha had no doubt that Father Zossima was dying, though he might live another day or two. Alyosha firmly and ardently resolved that in spite of his promises to his father, the Hohlakovs, and Katerina Ivanovna, he would not leave the monastery next day, but would remain with his elder to the end. His heart glowed with love, and he reproached himself bitterly for having been able for one instant to forget him whom he had left in the monastery on his deathbed, and whom he honored above every one in the world. He went into Father Zossima’s bedroom, knelt down, and bowed to the ground before the elder, who slept quietly without stirring, with regular, hardly audible breathing and a peaceful face. Alyosha returned to the other room, where Father Zossima had received his guests in the morning. Taking off his boots, he lay down on the hard, narrow, leathern sofa, which he had long used as a bed, bringing nothing but a pillow. The mattress, about which his father had shouted to him that morning, he had long forgotten to lie on. He took off his cassock, which he used as a covering. But before going to bed, he fell on his knees and prayed a long time. In his fervent prayer he did not beseech God to lighten his darkness but only thirsted for the joyous emotion, which always visited his soul after the praise and adoration, of which his evening prayer usually consisted. That joy always brought him light untroubled sleep. As he was praying, he suddenly felt in his pocket the little pink note the servant had handed him as he left Katerina Ivanovna’s. He was disturbed, but finished his prayer. Then, after some hesitation, he opened the envelope. In it was a letter to him, signed by Lise, the young daughter of Madame Hohlakov, who had laughed at him before the elder in the morning. “Alexey Fyodorovitch,” she wrote, “I am writing to you without any one’s knowledge, even mamma’s, and I know how wrong it is. But I cannot live without telling you the feeling that has sprung up in my heart, and this no one but us two must know for a time. But how am I to say what I want so much to tell you? Paper, they say, does not blush, but I assure you it’s not true and that it’s blushing just as I am now, all over. Dear Alyosha, I love you, I’ve loved you from my childhood, since our Moscow days, when you were very different from what you are now, and I shall love you all my life. My heart has chosen you, to unite our lives, and pass them together till our old age. Of course, on condition that you will leave the monastery. As for our age we will wait for the time fixed by the law. By that time I shall certainly be quite strong, I shall be walking and dancing. There can be no doubt of that. “You see how I’ve thought of everything. There’s only one thing I can’t imagine: what you’ll think of me when you read this. I’m always laughing and being naughty. I made you angry this morning, but I assure you before I took up my pen, I prayed before the Image of the Mother of God, and now I’m praying, and almost crying. “My secret is in your hands. When you come to‐morrow, I don’t know how I shall look at you. Ah, Alexey Fyodorovitch, what if I can’t restrain myself like a silly and laugh when I look at you as I did to‐day. You’ll think I’m a nasty girl making fun of you, and you won’t believe my letter. And so I beg you, dear one, if you’ve any pity for me, when you come to‐ morrow, don’t look me straight in the face, for if I meet your eyes, it will be sure to make me laugh, especially as you’ll be in that long gown. I feel cold all over when I think of it, so when you come, don’t look at me at all for a time, look at mamma or at the window.... “Here I’ve written you a love‐letter. Oh, dear, what have I done? Alyosha, don’t despise me, and if I’ve done something very horrid and wounded you, forgive me. Now the secret of my reputation, ruined perhaps for ever, is in your hands. “I shall certainly cry to‐day. Good‐by till our meeting, our awful meeting.—LISE. “P.S.—Alyosha! You must, must, must come!—LISE.” Alyosha read the note in amazement, read it through twice, thought a little, and suddenly laughed a soft, sweet laugh. He started. That laugh seemed to him sinful. But a minute later he laughed again just as softly and happily. He slowly replaced the note in the envelope, crossed himself and lay down. The agitation in his heart passed at once. “God, have mercy upon all of them, have all these unhappy and turbulent souls in Thy keeping, and set them in the right path. All ways are Thine. Save them according to Thy wisdom. Thou art love. Thou wilt send joy to all!” Alyosha murmured, crossing himself, and falling into peaceful sleep. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Fyodor Dostoyevsky (2009). The Brothers Karamazov. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/28054/pg28054-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

Another Reputation Ruined

When the End Is Nigh

A LITTLE HERO

This article is copublished with The Verge. Read on our collaborator's site Major tax filing services such as H&R Block, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer have been quietly transmitting sensitive financial information to Facebook when Americans file their taxes online, The Markup has learned. The , sent through widely used code called the Meta Pixel, includes not only information like names and email addresses but often even more detailed information, including data on users’ income, filing status, refund amounts, and dependents’ college scholarship amounts. data The information sent to Facebook can be used by the company to power its advertising algorithms and is gathered regardless of whether the person using the tax filing service has an account on Facebook or other platforms operated by its owner, Meta. See our data here. GitHub Each year, the Internal Revenue Service processes individual returns filed electronically, and some of the most widely used e-filing services employ the pixel, The Markup found. about 150 million When users sign up to file their taxes with the popular service TaxAct, for example, they’re asked to provide personal information to calculate their returns, including how much money they make and their investments. A pixel on TaxAct’s website then sent some of that data to Facebook, including users’ filing status, their adjusted gross income, and the amount of their refund, according to a review by The Markup. Income was rounded to the nearest thousand and refund to the nearest hundred. The pixel also sent the names of dependents in an obfuscated, , format. but generally reversible TaxAct, which about three million “consumer and professional users,” also uses Google’s analytics tool on its website, and The Markup found similar financial data, but not names, being sent to Google through its tool. says it has TaxAct wasn’t the only tax filing service using the Meta Pixel. Tax preparation giant H&R Block, which also offers an online filing option that , embedded a pixel on its site that gathered information on filers’ health savings account usage and dependents’ college tuition grants and expenses. attracts millions of customers per year Impact Citing this investigation, three congressional Democrats for sharing sensitive taxpayer data with Facebook. Feb. 2, 2023: demanded that the Internal Revenue Service investigate tax preparation companies Following this investigation, , Meta, and Google about how users’ sensitive financial information was shared with the tech companies. Dec. 14, 2022: Sen. Elizabeth Warren and colleagues questioned tax filing companies TaxSlayer, another widely used filing service, sent personal information to Facebook as part of the social media company’s “advanced matching” system, which gathers information on web visitors in an attempt to link them to Facebook accounts. The information gathered through the pixel on TaxSlayer’s site included phone numbers, the name of the user filling out the form, and the names of any dependents added to the return. As with TaxAct, specific demographic information about a user was obfuscated but still usable for Facebook to link a user to an existing profile. TaxSlayer it completed 10 million federal and state tax returns last year. has said The Markup also found the pixel code on a tax preparation site operated by a financial advice and software company called Ramsey Solutions, which uses a version of TaxSlayer’s service. That pixel gathered even more personal data from a tax return summary page, including information on income and refund amounts. This information was not sent immediately upon visiting the page but only when visitors clicked dropdown headings to see more details of their report. Even Intuit, the company that runs America’s dominant online filing software, employed the pixel. Intuit’s TurboTax, however, did not send financial information to Meta but rather usernames and the last time a device signed in. In some circumstances, the pixel also gathered information like an order ID number and user’s email address after they signed in. “We take the privacy of our customers’ data very seriously,” Nicole Coburn, a spokesperson for TaxAct, said in an email. “TaxAct, at all times, endeavors to comply with all IRS regulations.” Angela Davied, a spokesperson for H&R Block, said the company “regularly evaluate[s] our practices as part of our ongoing commitment to privacy, and will review the information.” Megan McConnell, a spokesperson for Ramsey Solutions, said in an email that the company “implemented the Meta Pixel to deliver a more personalized customer experience.” “We did NOT know and were never notified that personal tax information was being collected by Facebook from the Pixel,” the statement said. “As soon as we found out, we immediately informed TaxSlayer to deactivate the Pixel from Ramsey SmartTax.” After The Markup contacted TaxSlayer, spokesperson Molly Richardson said in an email that the company had removed the pixel to evaluate its use. “Our customers’ privacy is of utmost importance, and we take concerns about our customers’ information very seriously,” she said, adding that Ramsey Solutions “decided to remove the pixel” as well. Rick Heineman, a spokesperson for Intuit, said the company’s pixel “does not track, gather, or share information that users enter in TurboTax while filing their taxes,” although Intuit “may share some non-tax-return information, such as username, with marketing partners to deliver a better customer experience,” like not showing Intuit ads on Facebook to people who have accounts already. The company said it’s in compliance with regulations but has modified the pixel to no longer send usernames. Mandi Matlock, a Harvard Law School lecturer focused on tax law, said The Markup’s findings showed taxpayers “providing some of the most sensitive information that they own, and it’s being exploited.” “This is appalling,” she said. “It truly is.” On Monday, after TaxAct was contacted by The Markup for comment, the company’s site no longer sent financial details like income and refund amount to Meta but continued to send the names of dependents. The site also continued to send financial information to Google Analytics. Also as of Monday, TaxSlayer and Ramsey Solutions had removed the pixel from their tax filing sites and TurboTax had stopped sending usernames through the pixel at sign in. H&R Block’s site was continuing to send information on health savings accounts and college tuition grants. As of Wednesday, after this story was published, TaxAct had removed the pixel from its tax filing web application but was still sending financial information to Google Analytics, and H&R Block told The Markup it removed the pixel from its tax filing website “to stop any client tax information from being collected.” The Markup verified that it had been removed. How the Meta Pixel Tracks Users Meta makes the pixel code freely available to anyone who wants it, allowing businesses to embed the code on their sites as they wish. Using the code helps both Facebook and the businesses. When a customer comes to a business’s website, the pixel might record what items the customer browsed, say, a T-shirt, for example. The business can then target its ads on Facebook to people who looked at that shirt, allowing the business to find an audience that may already be interested in its products. Meta wins financially too. it can use the data it gleans from tools like the pixel to power its algorithms, providing it insight into the habits of users across the internet. The company says The strategy has been successful for Facebook. In 2018, that there were more than two million pixels across the web—a massive data-harvesting operation most internet users never see. the company told Congress “The practice is ubiquitous,” said Jon Callas, director of public interest technology at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who said he was left in “shock but not surprise” at The Markup’s findings. Some of the sensitive data collection analyzed by The Markup appears linked to default behaviors of the Meta Pixel, while some appears to arise from customizations made by the tax filing services, someone acting on their behalf, or other software installed on the site. For example, Meta Pixel collected health savings account and college expense information from H&R Block’s site because the information appeared in webpage titles and the standard configuration of the Meta Pixel automatically collects the title of a page the user is viewing, along with the web address of the page and other data. It was able to collect income information from Ramsey Solutions because the information appeared in a summary that expanded when clicked. The summary was detected by the pixel as a button, and in its default configuration the pixel collects text from inside a clicked button. The pixels embedded by TaxSlayer and TaxAct used a feature called “ .” automatic advanced matching That feature scans forms looking for fields it thinks contain like a phone number, first name, last name, or email address, then sends detected information to Meta. personally identifiable information On TaxSlayer’s site this feature collected phone numbers and the names of filers and their dependents. On TaxAct it collected the names of dependents. The data collected by the matching feature is sent in an obfuscated form known as a hash, which Meta states is used in order to “ .” help protect user privacy But the company can generally determine the pre-obfuscated version of the data—in fact Meta the hashed information to link other pixel data to Facebook and Instagram profiles. explicitly uses This pixel feature was turned off by default when The Markup set up a test pixel attached to a business account but could be turned on by clicking a toggle during setup. When TaxAct sent dollar amounts like adjusted gross income to Meta, they were transmitted as to a “ ,” which are sent only if the pixel is configured beyond the default by a website operator or another application the website operator adds to their site. parameters custom event TaxAct did not respond to questions about whether and why it configured the pixel in this manner. Once a tax return was filled out on taxact.com, information including an individual’s adjusted gross income, federal refund amount, and number of dependents was sent to Meta via the Meta Pixel. Data in the screenshots is not real user data. Source: taxact.com and The Markup There are limits to the types of data Meta says it will collect through the pixel. The company says it doesn’t want sensitive information sent to it, including financial data, and that it uses automated filtering to block potentially sensitive data. states that it prohibits sending information including bank account or credit card numbers or “information about an individual’s financial account or status.” Its help center Still, one specific type of prohibited data, income, was exactly what two tax sites sent to Facebook, The Markup found. Data sent to Facebook by TaxAct suggests it was also previously sending a parameter labeled “student_loan_interest,” which is now being filtered by the pixel before being sent. From January to July of this year, The Markup tracked websites’ use of the pixel as part of , a partnership with . For the project, participating users installed a browser extension that provided The Markup with a copy of all data shared with Meta via the pixel. the Pixel Hunt Mozilla Rally The Markup initially discovered sensitive information was shared by the tax preparers through data shared by Pixel Hunt participants. The Markup then signed up for accounts on the companies’ web applications and used the “Network” section of , a tool built into Google’s Chrome browser, to replicate and confirm the data. Chrome DevTools Earlier this year, with the help of Pixel Hunt participants, The Markup found sensitive data sent to Facebook on , , and the . the Education Department’s federal student aid application website crisis pregnancy websites websites of prominent hospitals Meta collects so much data even the company itself sometimes may be unaware of where it ends up. Earlier this year on a leaked Facebook document written by Facebook privacy engineers who said the company did not “have an adequate level of control and explainability over how our systems use data,” making it difficult to promise it wouldn’t use certain data for certain purposes. Vice reported At the time, a company spokesperson told Vice that Facebook has “extensive processes and controls to manage data and comply with privacy regulations.” In response to The Markup’s questions about the tax websites’ use of the pixel, Dale Hogan, a spokesperson for Meta, pointed to the company’s rules on sensitive financial information. “Advertisers should not send sensitive information about people through our Business Tools,” Hogan wrote in an emailed statement. “Doing so is against our policies and we educate advertisers on properly setting up Business tools to prevent this from occurring. Our system is designed to filter out potentially sensitive data it is able to detect.” Google spokesperson Jackie Berté said in an email that the company “has strict policies against advertising to people based on sensitive information” and that Google Analytics data “is obfuscated, meaning it is not tied back to an individual and our policies prohibit customers from sending us data that could be used to identify a user.” The IRS Closely Regulates Tax Data Nina Olson, the executive director of the nonprofit Center for Taxpayer Rights, was the national taxpayer advocate at the Internal Revenue Service between 2001 and 2019, a position in the agency meant to represent the interests of taxpayers. As part of her role at the IRS, she said, she contributed to the development of that govern disclosures of tax information. Olson said the IRS regulations controlling the way private tax filing services can use data are intentionally “very strong.” regulations Under the regulations she helped develop, tax preparers—including e-filing companies—can use the information they receive from taxpayers only for limited purposes; for anything beyond immediately facilitating filing, the preparer has to get signed consent from the user that explains the recipient and the precise information being disclosed. The government goes so far as to prescribe of requests for disclosure, saying it must be “the same size as, or larger than, the normal or standard body text used by the website or software package.” even the font size The penalties for disclosing data without consent are potentially steep: Fines and even jail time are possible, although Olson said she wasn’t aware of any criminal cases that have been pursued. The Markup reviewed the tax preparation websites for disclosures that specifically mentioned Meta or Facebook but did not find them. Instead, some companies included relatively broad disclosure agreements. Do they have a list saying they’re going to disclose the refund amounts, and your children, and your whatever ? to Facebook Nina Olson, Center for taxpayer rights TaxAct, for example, requested users approve sending their tax information to its sister company, TaxSmart Research LLC, so it could “develop, offer, and provide products and services” for users. It also stated “TaxSmart Research LLC may use service providers and business partners to accomplish these tasks.” H&R Block, meanwhile, included nearly the same disclosure request so “H&R Block Personalized Services, LLC” could provide products of its own. Those sites provided the user with the option to decline to share tax information, although data was shared with Facebook regardless of what option users chose, according to The Markup’s tests. Any disclosure from a tax preparer must provide the exact purpose and recipient to be in compliance, Olson said. “Do they have a list saying they’re going to disclose the refund amounts, and your children, and your whatever ?” she said. If not, she said, they may be in violation of regulations. to Facebook The IRS declined to comment or answer questions about whether any of the sites sharing tax information were in violation of tax law. No Way Out for Taxpayers American taxpayers have few options but to turn to private companies to file their returns. Unlike other countries, the United States has a for filing taxes, one that often requires the use of third-party tax preparers. heavily privatized system While in those other countries the government , after from private companies, tax preparers in the U.S. effectively act as middlemen between taxpayers and the government. handles the calculations, and taxpayers simply approve the numbers a successful lobbying push Tax preparation is now big business: that it’s a more than $11 billion industry in the United States. Market researchers have estimated A free preparation and filing option exists, but it’s limited to people making $73,000 or less and can be difficult to use. Companies offer their tax software at no charge through an agreement with the IRS but for not making the option easily available. have been criticized The IRS even effectively directs taxpayers attempting to file for free to some of the companies The Markup found using the pixel. A are part of the agreement, known as the Free File Alliance—including TaxAct and TaxSlayer. have been part of the program in the past. handful of tax preparation services TurboTax and H&R Block Harvard’s Matlock said The Markup’s findings showed the almost inevitable consequences of relying on for-profit companies to handle a government requirement. It’s a process that provides users little choice but to hand over their data to Facebook if they want to comply with the law, she said. “It’s frustrating because taxpayers have been pushed into the arms of these private, for-profit companies simply to comply with their tax filing obligations,” she said. “We have no choice, really, in the matter.” Update Nov. 23, 2022: This story has been updated to note when individual filing services stopped sharing customer tax data through the Meta Pixel. Correction Nov. 28, 2022: An earlier version of this story said no information was gathered by TurboTax past the sign-in page. In some circumstances, email addresses and order ID numbers were gathered. By , , and Simon Fondrie-Teitler Angie Waller Colin Lecher Also published here Photo by on Alex Haney Unsplash

Facebook Has Been Receiving Your Financial Information From Tax Filing Websites

It’s difficult to avoid the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) when discussing recent technological developments. ChatGPT, an OpenAI chatbot released in November 2022, is the brand new thing users are raving about. Before that release, AI had already been used by specialists in industries such as healthcare, automotive, and cybersecurity, but the technology had never been so widely available to the general public. Recent AI features released by major mobile apps also include Snapchat, Yelp, and Canva. In light of these events, we have invited Saida Gould, a technology expert who works with major tech companies and participates in the development of new projects. We'd like to talk about the most recent AI developments, the industries and professions that will be affected, and how we can deal with these changes. : Hello, Saida! As I have mentioned, there are an unprecedented number of apps that are releasing AI features for general use. Why do you think this is happening right now? Adam : It might seem like this happened recently, but AI use already started growing rapidly a few years ago. AI-powered customer service chatbots have been talking to users on websites and in apps for a long time. In the wake of the health crisis during the past few years, there was an even higher demand for automated solutions to improve analytics, address supply chain issues, and increase the rate at which businesses can grow. Saida Startups and established companies have poured investment into the development and use of AI, which has made it more affordable and accessible, even for small teams. It was inevitable that the technology would end up in the hands of regular, everyday users. : It’s clear where AI is already actively used: customer service chatbots, image editing, engineering. What are other fields that can utilize it? Adam : In my opinion, basically any field can benefit from the use of AI. Most businesses exist in the digital space, and that’s where AI can accelerate all business functions. Saida In recruitment, AI has the capability of sourcing and filtering candidates, contacting them, and even interviewing them. Songs with music, lyrics, voice, and images that were entirely produced by AI are now being released. Many of the basic writing tasks can be replaced by AI-generated text. It does the same thing as a copywriter: it scours the internet for information, picks the most credible data, and compiles it together. What takes me a few hours to do, will only take AI a few minutes. : So are you worried that AI will replace you in the workplace? Adam : Yes, and no. I’m concerned since I am actively involved in software development, writing, and music. Each of these fields is impacted by AI in one way or another. It’s hard to say how AI will affect the ability of creatives to make a living. AI artists probably won’t start dominating the music charts anytime soon, but the technology can already replace a lot of small jobs that creatives get paid to do. Writing a jingle or a movie soundtrack, recording voiceovers, designing a logo or an entire website—all of this can already be done by AI. The quality of the work sometimes surpasses what a human would be able to accomplish in the given time frame and budget. Saida But like with any technology, it’s inevitable that some things will become obsolete. When landlines were replaced by cell towers, a lot of phone line technicians had to change directions. It’s difficult to accept, but we have to make the best of the situation and find a way to move forward. : Does this mean that the concerns and hype surrounding AI are justified by the actual reality of the technology? Adam : Again, as with any new technology, the majority of people, especially younger generations, will adapt seamlessly. The same conversations have been going on around blockchain technology and how it might replace existing financial structures. Any fundamental change will take time, and in that time, most people will learn and adapt. Saida What’s also different about AI in comparison to other wildly discussed technologies like blockchain or the metaverse is that it’s not new and is familiar to many experts. Machine learning has been explored and utilized since the 1950s. Just for comparison, the first cell phone was created in the 1970s. The current state of AI development strongly indicates that we are on the verge of a giant breakthrough in the rate of its use. We may have entered the fifth industrial revolution already, in which humans and machines will work together through cyber-physical systems and technologies. : That sounds promising. Thank you for your time! If you could tell the readers one thing to remember about AI, what would it be? Adam : I think it’s important that people welcome the use of AI instead of being fearful and avoidant. When faced with the same task, people and companies that use true machine learning will perform better than those that don't. Over time, it will prevail as the standard. If you don’t want to be left behind, keep up. Saida

Breaking Down the Hype: Tech Expert Saida Gould Speaks on the Recent Surge of AI

Hey Hackers! On April 19th, Elixir Games a strategic partnership with Square Enix to focus on “generating visibility and adoption of web3 games among traditional gamers”. announced Elixir Games has a web3 gaming platform, called , that offers over 100 web3 and traditional PC games. Elixir Elixir Games also owns the IP for two upcoming web3 PC and mobile games, called “ ” and “ ”, which are both on the verge of their beta release. No Way Back MONSTROPOLY Elixir took to to announce the partnership with Square Enix to their followers and users. Twitter “This partnership brings us closer to web3 gaming mass adoption. Our team is incredibly excited to bring our technology to work, and we foresee Elixir users playing web2 and web3 games alike without distinction. 2023 has already seen more industry leaders enter the space with impactful projects, and we anticipate to see more as the year progresses. We’ve put all efforts to ensure we are ready for scalability.” - , CEO of Elixir Games Carlos Roldan In February of this year, Elixir Games an agreement with Epic Games, allowing users to play their Epic games via the Elixir launcher. announced Similarly, Elixir Games has an agreement with gaming company, GOG, that also allows users to integrate their accounts into Elixir and access their games through just one launcher. “This partnership with Elixir Games represents yet another step for Square Enix to explore the promise of web3- decentralized gaming.” - , Director of Business Development at Square Enix Hideaki Uehara It is certainly possible that this strategic partnership is a prelude to Square Enix’s push into Web3 gaming. The President of Square Enix confirmed in a that the gaming giant has “multiple blockchain games based on original IPs under development”. New Year’s Letter Back in November of 2022, Square Enix they were working with Polygon to launch their first ever web3 game, . announced SYMBIOGENESIS SYMBIOGENESIS will consist of 10,000 NFTs, and the story will be set on a “mysterious floating continent where unique storylines unravel based on information obtained by holding digital collectible art that represents different characters”. The Twitter account for SYMBIOGENESIS recently released a new that highlights the first images of this “mysterious floating continent”. teaser video After the news of this partnership, I am almost certain that SYMBIOGENESIS will launch directly on Elixir, along with other platforms. It is possible that there will be some sort of timed exclusivity deal for SYMBIOGENESIS on the Elixir launcher, or perhaps only those playing on the Elixir launcher will be rewarded with an exclusive in-game item. What are your thoughts on this news? Have you played any games on Elixir yet? Are you excited about a major video game company like Square Enix developing a full-fledged Web3 game? Will this lead to significant improvements in blockchain gaming? Check out my Socials: https://linktr.ee/zerorequiem0x See ya! :) Also published . here

Square Enix Partners With Elixir Games to Boost Web3 Gaming Adoption Among Traditional Gamers

Back in 2016, while running my startup, we faced a critical moment that felt like a . At that time, I believed we were on the verge of going out of business within a matter of hours. doomsday scenario Everything started because at that time we were working on a second, empowered, version of our data sync engine. We were in fact developing an iOS mobile app capable of storing data locally, fully in sync with our . backend The sync engine was designed by our own team in the earlier days of our startup and after a year we decided to heavily refactor it to basically improve its speed and resiliency within specific conditions. One of the things that we did was to decide on the behavior of the sync engine depending on the different status codes that our backend could return, related to the type of request that the app could submit. Below is a lookup table containing a draft of the schema we created. This picture was taken a few days after we narrowly survived the consequences of not properly implementing the complete handling process outlined in the schema. Sp, after weeks of programming, the day came and we rolled out the new sync engine in production. I have to say that at that time we did not have iOS automatic tests. We did quality assurance tests before the release but we did not have routines in place that were verifying the logical flow we designed for the new sync engine. That was, of course, carelessness on our part. Just one hour after releasing our app, customers began opening tickets, complaining about weird behavior. Specifically, one of the app's features was the ability to track deals pipelines, which means storing the movement of deals through different stages, from the moment a deal opens until it closes (either won or lost). Suddenly, all of our customers' pipelines were compromised, as all deals were brought back to the initial stage, resulting in a complete loss of control over the steps in the pipeline that signal to the sales team that a deal is moving towards the closing point. For us, it was a tremendous issue, as it was impacting one of the core elements of the app. We were lost and scared. But we reacted. . What we did were the followings things: We took a series of actions that, in a couple of hours, solved the problem and brought the situation back to normal 1. Looked at the app’s error report Initially, we looked into Sentry to check if our iOS and backend apps were reporting any bugs, but we found nothing. Some might consider this information useless, but it actually helped us focus on the situation. It became apparent that we were likely dealing with a logical issue related to the sync engine. This meant that the situation was worse than we initially anticipated because finding and resolving the issue was going to be much more challenging than we had imagined. 2. Lock the app Luckily one of the things we put in place from the very beginning of our startup was a flag within our iOS app allowing us to fully lock the usage of the app (including any data sync, even in the background) remotely. So, . we turn on the lock and all the apps of our customers were put immediately in a condition of not operating, a sort of maintenance mode That would have temporarily irritated our customers, but it’s far better than having their data compromised for a still unknown reason. 3. Debug sync code Our company went into emergency mode as our team of dedicated engineers and developers worked to resolve our issue. We thoroughly analyzed our sync engine to identify any logical deficiencies while also verifying that our implementation aligned with other app policies and behaviors. 4. Fix the bug and release a new app version After two hours of reasoning, investigations, and experimentation . Without going into the details, it was sufficient to know that it was a mix of an implementation of the sync on the iOS side that was not consistent with the REST APIs schema aforementioned and incompatibility with another data management function present in the iOS app code. we finally detected the issue Once . we fixed the app, we proceeded with the release and impatiently waited for iOS approval 5. Force update When the updated version of the app was available in the App Store, . This means that our customers were all together requested to go to the App Store to download the last version of our app, which contained the fix for the infamous deals stages compromisation. we disabled the app lock and we contextually forced the app to be updated We were able to achieve this success due to an excellent preventative measure we already had in place in our app - a date parameter that was checked at boot and during every sync. This parameter informed users when an update was necessary to continue using the app. By setting the parameter to the date of our latest release, we ensured that all active customers had downloaded and were using the expected version of the iOS app. 6. Restore corrupted data We solved the bug and brought returned the app’s operation to normal, but there was still another critical thing to tackle: . restoring the deals of stages that were corrupted by the sync issue Again, we were lucky enough that a couple of weeks before we implemented a tiny customer logger at the backend level to keep track of any change reflected on our database by the sync activity. The Ruby function was quite a simple but effective one, that was meant to basically save the type of method, the timestamp, the user (i.e. the customer), the target entity, and the changes applied (storing the old and new value). CRUD def self.create_activity(op, user, entity, params={}, changes={}, key='self', extras={})
        data = {
            :op => op,
            :key => key,
            :user_id => user.id,
            :occurred_at => Time.now.utc,
            :entity => entity,
            :params => params,
            :changes => changes
        }
        extras.each do | k, v |
            data[k] = v
        end
        Delayed::Job.enqueue(Jobs::QueuetaskJob.new("activity", data))
    end Hence, based on the history of the activities, it was quite fast to write down a script that grouped together all the deals whose stages were changed after the toxic iOS app release and iteratively rolled them back to the stage value they had before that event. To conclude, William Arthur Ward was used to say that The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. I'm pleased to say that our team demonstrated strength and resilience in responding quickly to a critical event that could have permanently compromised the reliability of our app and our business. We remained level-headed and optimistic, believing that we could overcome the challenge through teamwork and collaboration. Fortunately, we had access to a range of effective tools that helped us efficiently manage the situation and reach a resolution point without delay. This experience was a crucial turning point for us, demonstrating our ability to handle unexpected challenges with agility and confidence.

How an iOS Bug Triggered a Near Death Experience for Our Startup

THE PSYCHIC STATE IN PREGNANCY

Have you encountered job ads that exclusively seek native speakers? As a non-native writer, you may have great thoughts, stories, or research to share, but your writing style and quality may not always measure up to those of native writers. This often results in discrimination and prejudice. And, the bias is not just limited to non-native speakers but also extends to native speakers from communities, who . BIPOC face constant scrutiny Anecdotes from exophonic writers - the term for those who write in a language that isn’t their mother tongue - residing in countries like the US, Canada, and the UK suggest that non-native writers are at a disadvantage when applying for jobs or submitting their work, leaving little to no chance for those who have never been to Western countries. While , it is understandable that editors from reputed publications may not have the bandwidth to edit and publish articles that are not well-comprehended, as doing so may require additional editing time and resources. This results in non-native writers constantly facing rejection across various genres, from artwork to scientific research, solely on the basis of linguistic proficiency. linguistic discrimination is a common problem However, the emergence of AI tools like ChatGPT has revolutionized writing  and leveled the playing field for all writers. It's time to step up! Understanding Discrimination and the Barrier to Entry Before discussing ways for non-native writers to improve their writing skills to meet "native standards," it is important to address the issue of discrimination and prejudice that create a barrier to entry. This barrier cannot be automatically eradicated by simply improving the quality of writing. This section will present anecdotes from real writers and research papers as evidence. Nilofar Shidmehr, a well-known writer, a Ph.D. holder, and a faculty member at Douglas College in Canada, based on her background as a non-native English speaker. has experienced discrimination "In Canada, I have sometimes felt that others consider me less capable of becoming an 'English' writer, and it saddens me to a great degree," she says. Rachel Werner, a BIPOC author and the founder of The Little Book Project WI, speaks about . the bias against marginalized communities “It’s no secret that the publishing industry has numerous issues in terms of excluding individuals from marginalized communities. This is true not only for who gets hired as writers and editors but also for the sort of content which repeatedly gets published,” she says. Rachel also talks about the snide remarks she would constantly get. “It was obvious I was less respected than several of my [white] co-workers. Oftentimes, demeaning remarks would be attributed to my ‘lack of experience’ working in glossy editorial and my age.” Paula Cheung Deckard, with a Master's degree from the UK who currently resides in Canada, shares her experience of feeling bias and wanting to give up. a self-published author "I didn't think that publications or editors would ever be biased toward BIPOC writers, but at the back of my head, I did. I felt it had something to do with my Asian surname, so I adopted a pen name. The discrimination made me question myself as a writer. A few times, I was on the verge of giving up until I realized that writing was, in fact, my true passion." Aside from anecdotal examples, research has well-documented discrimination against non-native speakers in both speech and text. A finds that 95% of books published are by white people. report from The New York Times People with accents are and considered to be less reliable. And, this is the case for both non-native speakers and native BIPOC speakers who are given less credibility because of their accents. often perceived with skepticism may require more effort from non-native writers. Publishing Research papers and academic journals are because of poor linguistic skills. often rejected The requirement for ‘Native English’ in job ads, , is still very prevalent. while possibly unlawful Discrimination against non-native speakers and writers is a well-documented issue. While discrimination stemming from prejudices cannot be helped, we can take steps to mitigate biases caused because of 'inferior' writing skills by identifying the main challenges that non-native writers face and using language processing AI to improve the quality of writing. Linguistic Challenges Faced By Non-Native Writers Before we jump to how AI can help, let’s try to break down the common struggles of non-native writers. Cultural When we think about linguistic challenges, we often focus on issues related to the language itself and how to write correctly. However, the cultural challenges associated with any particular language are often overlooked. Non-native writers may fail to align with the culture of their target audiences, which can create challenges in areas such as humor and conversational style. Conventions differ across cultures, and the inability to comprehend the etiquette, styling, and cultural references that resonate with the target audience can be problematic. Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation Sentence structure, verb tense, articles, and prepositions can differ significantly between languages, making it difficult for non-native writers to apply the correct rules. Additionally, spelling and punctuation differ between US and UK dialects. For instance, the usage of periods and commas around quotation marks or the correct way to spell words can get confusing due to these differences. Syntax Sentence structure can vary significantly between languages, and it can often be a challenge for non-native writers to write sentences that are easily readable for their target audience. This is something I personally struggle with, and you may have come across sentences in this article that are a bit too long! Style and Tone The style and tone of writing differ significantly among regions. While writers from Asian countries tend to write in a descriptive and formal manner, readers from Western countries often prefer a concise and conversational style of writing. Professional editor, Chelsea Terry, argues that the phrase, “write as you speak,” is . not applicable to non-native writers AI Tools and Their Role in Assisting Non-Native Writers Thankfully, with the recent advancements in language modeling and the accessibility of specialized tools, we can address many of the challenges we have discussed and write better. Utilize ChatGPT to generate ideas, receive constructive feedback on your writing, correct errors, and enhance the style of your writing ChatGPT is a language model that has been designed to understand and generate human-like text. Backed by Microsoft, which has recently in its parent company, ChatGPT has taken the internet by storm. invested $10 billion dollars For writers, it is a valuable resource that can help generate ideas, correct grammatical errors, suggest improvements for text, rephrase sentences, and tailor them for the intended audience. The tool can also critically review your work and suggest ways to improve it. However, caution should be exercised when using this tool as ChatGPT can sometimes be incorrect and . Plus, generating passages with the application and using them in your articles can be a bad idea as it essentially is . does not hesitate before lying plagiarism with extra steps Also, incorrect usage of the tool can spread misinformation, and perpetuate biases and stereotypes, given that the system has learned from a vast dataset without any filters. Nonetheless, for non-native writers who struggle with style, tone, and syntax, ChatGPT can be life-changing. The best use case of ChatGPT is to improve your original content instead of having it generate content for you. Use Grammarly to Fix Grammar and Typos as You Write Grammarly is an AI-powered, cloud-based typing assistant that has been widely used by writers long before ChatGPT came into the limelight. The tool seamlessly integrates with webpages such as Google Docs, Gmail, Facebook, etc., and provides real-time suggestions for corrections as you type. While the product is commonly used by writers to fix spelling, grammar, and typographic errors, it can also help simplify sentences or adjust the tone of your language. For example, it may suggest breaking up a long sentence into two or three shorter ones or using simpler words to make a sentence more concise. By selecting the target demographic within the tool, non-native writers can write content that is suitable for the intended readers. Use Hemingway Editor to Make Articles More Readable Hemingway Editor is a web application that uses language processing to recognize problems in your writing. The most important use case of this application is to help you make your writing concise by providing suggestions that can make your writing easier to understand. The application helps you create simpler sentences, avoid passive voice, and eliminate complex or unnecessary words. In the previous section, we talked about how many non-native writers have a descriptive style of writing while the Western audience looks for a simple conversational, and engaging tone. This application can help in solving this problem if you target the West. The tool also provides a readability score, which estimates the education level required for readers to understand your writing. This can help you tone your writing for the intended audience. Word of Caution: Do Not Lose Your Voice! While AI has helped non-native writers improve their writing skills, it's important to use these tools carefully. Over-reliance on AI can strip away your unique voice, which is essential to give soul to your work. And, without a soul, you might as well just create AI-generated content and call it a day! AI, in its current form, is neither a replacement for a unique human voice nor a replacement for human feedback and the editing process. Plus, these tools are not always accurate and can make mistakes. When I first found ChatGPT, I would use it for trivial tasks like reviewing personal emails, even when I did not need it, because why not? The tool is always available. Over time, I started writing sentences more hastily, relying on my , as I knew I could fix the piece later using my own editing skills combined with AI suggestions. It also brought self-doubt and anxiety if I wrote something and did not get it checked by AI. stream of consciousness The key to improving the quality of writing for writers is to use AI to enhance what has already been written instead of over-relying on the strength of technology. For many writers, AI has the potential to completely transform how they write and bring their own unique thoughts and ideas to the global stage. We can hope that discrimination against non-native writers will start to fizzle out as AI tools help increase the quality standards of writing.

Can AI Reduce Discrimination Against Non-Native Writers?

¿Puede la IA reducir la discriminación contra los escritores no nativos?

L'IA peut-elle réduire la discrimination à l'égard des écrivains non natifs ?

क्या एआई गैर-देशी लेखकों के खिलाफ भेदभाव को कम कर सकता है?

AI はネイティブでない作家に対する差別を減らすことができますか?

A IA pode reduzir a discriminação contra escritores não nativos?

AI có thể giảm bớt sự phân biệt đối xử đối với các nhà văn không phải là người bản địa không?

人工智能可以减少对非母语作家的歧视吗？

Photo credit, AI generated NFT ( ) made using Stable Diffusion 2.1 and minted on the Nodle blockchain #614963229 AI is on the verge of quickly evolving into Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and performing specific tasks better than humans. With all the jobs that an AGI will replace, it is evident that our society will to compensate for the loss of revenues for many people. It will also provide the opportunity to gain more time to adapt and learn new skills that an AGI will never perform as well as a human. Given the complexity of AGI’s ‘thinking flow’ that precedes the solution, it will become necessary to record specific steps of the process or sources taken into consideration for providing an answer. In addition, given the AGI's various creations, it is becoming essential to record originals in an immutable way, whether they are photos, images, videos, or applications, to prove they were created by a human or a group of humans. need to find ways to provide a Universal Basic Income (UBI) It is hard to estimate the direct economic impact on our society that AGI will have. Instead of fighting against AGI, we should embrace it. ; and we have at our fingertips technical solutions like blockchain and cryptocurrencies to create a UBI and make sense of what an AGI does. It is happening now These technologies are coming together, allowing us to create a new economic system that fosters creativity, consciousness, and more balance in people’s lives. The impact of AGI on jobs will be massive. It is probably not a coincidence that more than 120,000 tech jobs were lost in the US in the first two months of 2023 alone. Five years from now, we won’t probably need any mid-level programmers. An AGI would be capable enough to create websites or mobile applications by leveraging available libraries and open-source UIs. I use Chat GPT-4 and find that it is much better than any intern I have ever had, probably much better than the top 10 percentile of a student coming out of the top 10 US universities. I encourage everyone in my company to use it to gain time and be more productive. I don’t think I will ever need to hire a copywriter or a translator again. On the opposite, I was motivated to go back to coding to leverage the amazing capabilities of such LLM to dig into unique datasets and discover things I would not realize or be able to recognize patterns or trends much faster. AI Will lead to a more balanced life for humans. One of the other great potential benefits is enabling people to have more time. More time for themselves, working on themselves, learning, developing their consciousness, and enjoying life. This should participate in making anyone’s quality of life. Universal Basic Income (UBI) and alternative sources of revenue UBI and alternative sources of revenue can provide a solution to expected massive job displacements caused by AI advancements. Learn-to-Earn (L2E) In an era where the availability of information is growing exponentially by the day, crypto ecosystems provide many ways to incentivize and gamify learning. Governments could easily leverage these tools and sponsor programs to help people catch up with the latest advancements in AI, educate them, and have them learn new skills. Access to Finance (DeFi) Look at the way Nigerians are adopting Bitcoin and how cryptocurrencies and DeFi are enabling many for the first time to have the equivalent of a bank account when most banking institutions would not allow them to open an account. Crypto ecosystems remove the friction of traditional finance. Defi allows anyone to access loans and investment opportunities and optimize how they manage their assets independently from the value of their portfolio. They provide an infrastructure to pay people anywhere in the world for a fraction of the cost compared to traditional overseas transactions. Cryptocurrencies also enable micro-transactions linked to systems with immutable proofs to justify payment, the creation of an asset, and/or their distribution. Programmable money goes even one step further by linking a cryptocurrency for specific usage, removing risks of abuse and corruption. Additional Passive and Active Incomes Nodle is just one example of how anyone with a smartphone can participate in a network and earn a passive income for sharing some of their smartphone’s resources or taking part in specific actions whose results can be cryptographically proven. : Disclaimer The author is a co-founder and CEO at Nodle.io Developing new skills incentivized using blockchain ecosystems could be a great option. There is hope; blockchain ecosystems can help create incentives, while AGI will force us to become better at anything we do, learn soft skills, and take on jobs that will help others develop their creativity and consciousness. These qualities will be hard to be replicated by an AI and will undoubtedly advance society toward valuing unique skill sets. We have already entered the creator’s economy, but this time everyone will be forced to become one or develop other soft skills. Soft skills Soft skills encompass the personal attributes that enable individuals to interact effectively and harmoniously with others in the workplace. These sought-after skills include but are not limited Employers highly value these abilities. They will look for these skills as they contribute significantly to creating a positive work environment and fostering successful collaborations. to effective communication, active listening, teamwork, adaptability, conflict resolution, time management, critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence. How will blockchain technologies help Original Creations and understanding of AI Decisions? Blockchain records of an AGI’s flow of reasonings and decisions Combining neural networks and LLM (Large Language Models) processes with blockchain can help understand AI/AGI reasoning. It can highlight multiple sources at the origin of creation or record a decision that impacted the physical world. This is particularly needed when AGI will be used to take proactive actions. An important side benefit of recording some blockchain processes is increasing transparency on these decisions. NFTs and other such public certificates on the blockchain NFTs are a disruptive innovation whose immutable nature helps protect, prove, and trade original creations (e.g., art, music, writing, photos, videos, code). Future Implications and Challenges As AGI advances, challenges will arise, such as large corporations monopolizing valuable datasets. For example, a potential issue could be that large companies try to keep large datasets private to build a competitive advantage over competitors and maximize revenues. This behavior could create ethical severe issues regarding the accessibility of AI systems in healthcare or medicine, where an AI can improve diagnostics accuracy and potentially propose better medical prescriptions. It raises questions about the role of regulation that must address the issues highlighted above to protect individual interests. Regulation can also threaten the development of blockchain ecosystems and cryptocurrencies. It will need to appreciate the benefits they bring in the context of the development of much-needed UBI and alternative sources of revenue for individuals. To succeed, a potential New Economic System must be decentralized to remove control from large corporations and enable individuals to benefit from AGI's advancements. Very likely, LLM will need to be open-sourced. OpenAI seems to be considering open-sourcing GPT models, but it has still not happened. I encourage any of you to perform further research and engage in discussions on these topics to better understand and prepare for the future.

AI & Blockchain Won't Compete Against One Another But Work Together To Build A New Economic System 

AI y Blockchain no competirán entre sí, sino que trabajarán juntos para construir un nuevo sistema económico

L'IA et la blockchain ne se feront pas concurrence mais travailleront ensemble pour construire un nouveau système économique

एआई और ब्लॉकचैन एक दूसरे के खिलाफ प्रतिस्पर्धा नहीं करेंगे बल्कि एक नई आर्थिक प्रणाली बनाने के लिए मिलकर काम करेंगे

AIとブロックチェーンは互いに競合するのではなく、協力して新しい経済システムを構築します

AI e Blockchain não competirão entre si, mas trabalharão juntos para construir um novo sistema econômico

AI & Blockchain sẽ không cạnh tranh với nhau mà hợp tác cùng nhau để xây dựng một hệ thống kinh tế mới

人工智能与区块链不相互竞争而是共同构建新的经济体系

While artificial intelligence (AI) has not been a new invention or area of research for decades, many of us are suddenly aware it is on the verge of mass adoption. We witnessed the extensive usage of large language models—for example, the ChatGPT—across various industries, infiltrating our everyday lives. Movie scenes have taught us that AI is inherently wrong; it will eventually take over humankind, reigning the world into a dystopian state. This is not only an one-sided single view from a layman, as a bunch of technology entrepreneurs and thought leaders recently published an to call for at least a 6-month pause in the development of a more robust AI system—namely GPT-4—unless the threats associated with it can be alleviated into manageable risks. open letter The future outlook seems to bloom rapidly at first but is quickly flooded with pessimistic worries. So, the engine has already started, and this no-rear-gear car is heading to a critical crossroad; there is no way back. The only question left in the cabin is, where shall we direct to? Transparency Matters in AI Imagine your eyes are tied by a troop of fort and forceful soldiers, and they throw you into a completely dark container. They tell you not to panic because they are just going to bring you to a safe place. Although their tones are mild and gentle, this is still very suspicious. AI is no different from this black box. The smart recommendation algorithm is one circumstance that we all have come across. The results we look for from the search engine, the video programs we watch, and the songs we listen to are suggested mainly by deep neural networks, which are models consisting of multiple layers of parameters to determine the outcome. On the one hand, engineers are eager to add as many layers as possible to increase the “predictability,” “objectiveness,” or “accuracy” of the model, but when more—some even to millions or billions—parameters are incorporated, it is hard for any human to deduce the thinking process of the model. What makes it worse is that the companies who developed the models are often reluctant to share the parameters and open the source codes of the models. They opine that doing so will invite gaming of the system, leading to abused and biased usage. While this claim sounds logical at first glance, it may induce more devastating impacts. Many financial institutions have credit rating systems powered by AI modeling. When such opacity exists without clear, transparent assessment criteria for the public or even the model developers to understand, the rights to access vital financial services such as banking, financial credit, and insurance will be solely determined by an opaque AI model. How can we ensure the model is always “correct,” given the developers have no idea of what is happening in the decision mechanism? And most importantly, what does “correct” itself mean? To further expand, some governments have been exploring—if not implementing—a for their citizens. People have to obtain and maintain a specific social credit score before they can enjoy some public services or apply for a job in governmental bodies. This is only the beginning; ultimately, the social credit rating system will most likely severely affect your freedom. Whether you can get a travel visa or rent an apartment, they are all by the mercy of AI, similar to what has been described in , a series. social credit system Black Mirror Netflix We do not trust without understanding. It is horrifying that we have no clue about AI bias—or preference if speaking in a neutral tone. An upright view of AI creation is to eliminate the biases of humans, but forgotten AI may have similar inclinations Returning to the case of a bank, relying only on demographic and behavioral data of the bank’s current clients could lead to the model targeting clients by ethnical backgrounds or skewing to the richer. Where we have set aside the discussion of discrimination and equality here to fully support the bank using this (assumably) biased client onboarding model—for their benefits due to commercial purposes and profit maximization, we have to admit the model itself has an appetite. It may lead to falsifying client rejection, eroding the bank’s business day by day. I am not a subject expert on this scientific question, but one pragmatic concern is how the bank can acquire data from non-customers, or in other words, where it can get data from its competitors. Nevertheless, engineers will not know how much data is required to train the model to become impartial. Is enlarging the dataset for training a possible way to eliminate the survivorship bias? Too Big to Fail The recommendation algorithm on and the client onboarding model of the bank are some applications of narrow AI, which focus on a particular task. Though their interferences are bound to a limited area—which has already been substantial, some stronger AI models are around the corner. YouTube (AGI) aims to learn human values and wisdom to replace humans in performing most tasks. While the creators have—or are guessed to have—goodwill, they are still unsure how to prevent misalignment completely. The same has happened to users, who believe the technology is so powerful that they are too dependent on it for everyday life. As mentioned above, AI training requires enormous amounts of data. Users’ continuous adoption of a specific algorithm is essentially a data-feeding iteration. The more users adopt the model, the more data the model gathers and the stronger the model. Artificial general intelligence ChatGPT and other large language models are some of the most revealing manifestations. They are pre-trained by massive text walls, ranging from an old-school history scholar to a fictitious novel author. People are having fun playing prompts and responses, fascinated by the powerful improvisation and imagination abilities within the models. They are using the models unconsciously, perhaps unaware that they are contributing to the further training of models, reinforcing the models’ power. It appears immaterial from users’ perspectives as they only care about the results. Empirically, this conjecture is not always true that AI sometimes commits unintended actions, surprising the users. The to columnist Kevin Roose is not a single event. marriage proposed by the Microsoft Bing chatbot No model is perfect; they are vulnerable to data and human training. In the case of large language models, the data sources are broad, so on occasions, the generated feedback will be derived from some improper or deceptive ones—though we are still unable to get clear on why, where, and how AI selects its data sources. Maybe AI is impersonating a lousy pursuer to Kevin, fitting replies on the spot that it learned from an exciting and romantic poem in an online dating forum. Engineers have been working hard to reduce these undesirable outcomes through techniques such as reinforcement learning by human feedback. However, scalable oversight is still a bottleneck due to the vast amounts of data to evaluate. And the situation is dynamic and evolving—bad data or malicious trainers constantly turn up. Shall another AI be introduced as the supervisor instead? It is uncertain—at least by now—as humans are yet to discover a powerful AI that is always honest. Should Technology be Regulated or the People? Using AI causally for fun is entertaining, if not weird, but things will not go well when conducting proper academic or business research, using AI, without verification. Hallucination is a common problem—especially in generative AI tools like large language models—that the AI will confidently write up untrue and nonsense content in a structured, highly organized manner, fooling the users that it is telling the truth. The underlying issue is not about the truth; instead, it is how we perceive it. These delusions from AI provoke creativity, but misusing it poses perilous damages. For instance, deep fake is a face-swap technology applied often in movie production. Still, conversely, pranksters joke with celebrities and politicians on the internet, using their faces for pornography and fake news makeup. The creation of an alternative truth with forged evidence is so harmful that regulatory measures are desperately needed. Like any other new technology, AI has invited lengthy discussions about regulation. Traditionally, we believe technology is neutral, a tool without prejudice, so we should monitor the person who pulls the trigger instead. AI adds a layer of complexity during the transition from narrow AI to strong AGI. When powerful AGIs possess the same emotions, preferences, and wisdom as humans, presumably, they can act on their accord like mankind. The only difference is these superintelligences are much cleverer. Values are diverse across different people, and so do AIs—there is no guarantee of the nonexistence of evil superpowers. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Therefore, before the situation accelerates, companies who dedicate to developing AI, notably the titans who are ambitious to deploy their AIs for public usage (as a commercial decision), should promote the concept of self-awareness and self-regulation. These include data input, model design, model training, setting up model constraints (AGI developers would object to it), and model auditing. Until AI can self-regulate, the technology owners are responsible for being the guardian. Still, trust issue arises. Amateurs are confident with the security performance of the technology giants and sharing sensitive information like , albeit not noticing the terms and conditions they abided by. The privacy policy by OpenAI—developer and owner of ChatGPT—has already stated that the data transferred to and stored in their servers are not utterly safeguarded. some Samsung employees do Unfortunately, this has been confirmed by recently, leaking users’ chat histories and personal identifier information (PII) such as first and last name, email address, payment address, the last four digits of the credit card number, and credit card expiration date. Whether it is an isolated negligence or a systematic failure of procedural design, it intensifies the skepticism among policymakers. Italy has already imposed a temporary blanket ban on ChatGPT, probing privacy concerns and the protection of minors. Germany, France, and Ireland have said they are investigating. their data breach incident Openness, Decentralization is the Future A variant of the classical principal-agent problem comes back to the attention. The imbalance of interests between the public and the private proprietorship magnifies when technology advances, whereas powerhouse, captures most—if not all—utilities, leveraging the data supplied by the people. Technology intends to bring a fairer society, not the opposite. To strive for idealism, we should encourage the decentralization of technology, exhilarating more participants to join forces. It is intruding to prefer numerous narrow AIs to one omniscient AGI, but by dividing the control of power, we are more distant to a single point of failure or malice. Multiple competing, counter-supervising AGIs are also probable, as having choices in addition to checks and balances is always wise. Openness is another field to deal with. While internal auditing is a cornerstone to upholding an AI model’s reliability, it is necessary to embrace the core principles of open source. A community-driven debugging and enhancement process contributes to refined shared knowledge, improving future research progress tremendously and leading a common good for all of us. Going further to the point that should public interests outweigh intellectual property rights—a motivation for innovation within private entities—we must seek a way to align their interests. A new reward mechanism has to be invented to split the shares proportionately among sponsors, model developers, trainers, users, and data owners. New organizational-people relationships will evolve as all the stakeholders have contributed to the value-added AI technology. The incentives of the proprietary owners are inevitably compromised, as the economic benefits from the AI monopolies will most likely be redistributed to justify the effort of data owners. Quite a few language models are working as open source, like Google’s BERT, Eleuther AI’s GPT-J/GPT Neo, Responsible AI’s BLOOM, and Cerebras’ Cerebras-GPT, yet understandable for those who have opted for close source—either for internal beta-testing so not ready to publicize, or protecting proprietorship for commercial reasons. Even so, Twitter has partially of the recommendation algorithm. Though Twitter’s primary source of revenue is advertisements, which is more dependent on platform engagement rather than the recommendation algorithm—and whether the company has its own agenda for this sudden disclosure—a more transparent approach will stimulate further improvements. released its source code Conclusion: The Need for Ethically Improving AI Fear of AI may stem from our uncertainty and distrust of the technology, but it is not entirely unfounded. Humans must nurture AI with care and caution, guiding it to do good to humans instead of causing harm. The current landscape is complicated; expansion is quick, yet many moral standards have been broken. While the debate to halt the development of stronger AI is expected to continue, a consensus on ethically improving AI has to be observed. Leaders should realize that drawing boundaries for protectionism is unfeasible anymore, no matter if they are pro or against this unavoidable new age movement. Same with AI itself, AI alignment requires all humans—maybe AI too—to share and devote their collective intelligence. This article was originally published on . Michael Kwok’s Substack

Peering Inside the AI Black Box: The Pressing Need for Transparency

As technology advances, so does the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to disrupt our lives. As AI and automation become more sophisticated and intelligent, they can take on increasingly complex tasks that would otherwise require humans. How advanced is too advanced? What are the boundaries when it comes to these types of technologies? As technology advances and AI improves, so do the ethical questions surrounding it. trained on data from websites focused on death, murder, and other dark topics before being tested against a standard set of inkblots. In 2016, MIT researchers built an AI system called “Norman,” What did Norman see? Horror stories like “man gets pulled into a dough machine” and “man is shot dead in the street.” This startling experiment shows how quickly AI could become too advanced and capable of becoming destructive without proper oversight. While AI is often frighteningly portrayed as an evil, malevolent force in movies and books, it could become a reality if we don't keep a watchful eye. Recent advancements are astounding - Boston Dynamics has successfully programmed two robots with Artificial Intelligence to traverse terrain blocks using parkour. They could even jump over obstacles and do backflips before landing safely – truly remarkable feats of technology that must be monitored vigilantly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF4DML7FIWk&embedable=true This article explores the potential for AI and automation to reach dangerously advanced levels and how taking certain precautions can help keep it safe. We will detail the potential risks of going too far with this technology and how companies, governments, and individuals can regulate its use. Finally, we’ll look at ethical considerations and raise questions about the future implications of AI. The Rise Of AI With the emergence of AI, it's easy to get swept away by dark prophecies of self-aware machines that revolt against their human makers. We can thank fictional villains like from The Terminator, or in 2001: A Space Odyssey for our overactive imaginations. Skynet Hal Despite this, the present threat AI poses is more insidious than imagined. It's much more conceivable that robots will harm or fail to satisfy humans in completing their tasks rather than gaining consciousness and revolting against us. To address this issue, the University of California Berkeley recently unveiled a center dedicated to developing AIs that benefit humanity. 2021 saw the launch of the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence, generously funded by $5.5 million from the placed in the capable hands of leading artificial intelligence expert and computer science professor . He has quickly downplayed unrealistic or over-dramatic comparisons between AI technology and its portrayal as a menace in popular science fiction works. Open Philanthropy Project, Stuart Russell “The risk doesn’t come from machines suddenly developing spontaneous malevolent consciousness,” he said. “It’s important that we’re not trying to prevent that from happening because there’s absolutely no understanding of consciousness whatsoever.” Fear Growing Among AI Experts During a 2018 , CEO Sundar Pichai boldly stated: “AI is certainly one of the most significant things humankind has ever worked on - more meaningful than electricity and fire combined." At that moment, this remark was met with some doubt. Fast-forward to today; it appears his prognosis was right all along! speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos Google Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances so quickly that it's on the verge of completely eliminating language barriers online for some of the most popular languages. University professors are in a frenzy because AI can write essays just as well as students now — providing an effortless method to cheat that anti-plagiarism programs cannot detect. Even more remarkable is taking home awards from state fairs worldwide! AI-created art , an innovative tool utilizing machine learning to anticipate and fill in computer code lines, brings us closer than ever to having a completely AI-written system. Evidence of the astounding potential of artificial intelligence is readily exemplified by DeepMind's AlphaFold program, which uses AI to forecast protein 3D structures - it was so awe-inspiring that Science magazine named it the Copilot Breakthrough of 2021. As we strive to create more advanced and all-encompassing systems, many tech companies have set their sights on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) — machines that can complete any task a human is capable of. But blindly relying on the hope that such sophisticated entities won't harm us while they possess the capacity to manipulate and mislead us would be an irresponsibly foolish decision. To guarantee safety and security, we must develop systems whose components we thoroughly comprehend and whose objectives align with our goals. Yet at present, our lack of knowledge surrounding these advanced technologies means it may already be too late to understand their intricacies. AI & Ethics AI can be a powerful tool, but its use is not always for the best. If left to operate within its own ethical framework, it has been demonstrated to cause discrimination and even subversion among certain populations. Take " as an example: citizens are judged based on their trustworthiness and receive consequences such as restricted ticket-booking rights or slower internet speeds when found to have done something wrong - even if that 'wrong' is simply playing too many video games! As this technology continues to develop with no oversight, one must question what other egregious violations of personal liberties may go unchecked in the future. China's "social credit system Mandatory regulations on AI have the power to safeguard human rights. As such, it is imperative for legislation like the EU's proposed AI Act to be established and enforced to ensure that artificial intelligence has a beneficial impact on our lives. The EU is one of the foremost regulators worldwide. Other countries, including China and the UK, are also beginning their own regulatory processes to ensure they have an influential role in how tech will affect us this century. The Challenges Of Global AI Regulation is divided into three risk categories. Firstly, some applications, such as China's social credit system, present an "unacceptable" level of danger. Secondly, programs considered a potential hazard, like CV-scanning tools must abide by legal regulations to avoid discriminatory practices. The AI Act Regulation is essential to maintain the digital infrastructure, but neither the US nor the EU can establish it alone. Moreover, achieving a worldwide accord on the guiding principles of such regulation appears unattainable due to disagreements within each region. To illustrate this further, some countries have separate national policies, which produce conflict between their local and global approaches. Consequently, without cooperation from both Europe and America, there will be chaos in our current digital world order. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? AI has been perceived as a threatening technology, and justifiably so. But compared to other highly disruptive technologies such as biotechnology or nuclear weapons, what makes it unique? These tools can be destructive, yet they remain largely within our power. We could only cause a catastrophe if we choose to utilize them or fail to protect against their misuse by malicious and careless individuals. However, AI is particularly dangerous because there may come a day when it's no longer in our grasp. When autonomous systems are given the capacity to self-modify, they may develop their own objectives that conflict with humanity. This can be especially concerning if these machines become exponentially smarter than us, out-competing our capabilities and leading to a situation known as an "AI takeover." We must take proactive steps to ensure that these machines remain loyal to our goals, such as introducing rigorous accountability mechanisms and designing ethical AI systems that are programmed with a sense of morality. The science fiction narrative around AIs is often more extreme than reality. We need to understand the real risk posed by AI technologies to take steps to mitigate them. We must continue to grow our knowledge of AI and its capabilities to ensure we use it for good and not for harm. With careful regulation, responsible development, and thoughtful implementation, we can harness the potential benefits of AI without sacrificing public safety or security. The Dystopian Future Of AI As AI systems become increasingly advanced, there is a growing worry that these machines could eventually gain the capacity to outsmart us. AI could take over all aspects of humanity in a dystopian future, leaving us powerless and at its mercy. It's impossible to predict what will happen in the long-term future of artificial intelligence, but we must be prepared for the potential risks by investing in research to better understand these systems and their behavior. We should also focus on building ethical frameworks and regulations that will keep us safe from any malicious applications of this technology. As AI continues its relentless advance, human labor may soon become obsolete as machines can complete many tasks without needing a person. This can be difficult to comprehend given that evolution is an incredibly slow process, and therefore developments will occur slowly over time. However, there could be profound repercussions if AI were to gain such power that it had the ability to reprogram itself to override human commands. The implications of this potential outcome are vast, with potentially damaging consequences for humanity on all levels. Ultimately, it is up to us as a society to ensure that AI is used responsibly and ethically to continue serving humanity without sacrificing our safety and security. We must continue researching the technology, developing ethical frameworks and regulations, and remaining vigilant to protect ourselves from potential dangers posed by AI. The debate around the AI revolution has divided opinions. Numerous experts have spoken out about its potentially dangerous consequences, imploring researchers to explore the impact of artificial intelligence gone awry on human society. With technology advancing rapidly in this field, strict regulation and monitoring must be put into place with haste - before any major harm can occur. As long as the appropriate legal regulations are in place, AI takeover will remain confined to fictional worlds and dystopian movies. Many scrutinize Artificial Intelligence's uncertain power, yet we still grapple with understanding if it can surpass human capabilities in certain industries. There is no crystal ball when it comes to forecasting the future of AI – this only heightens the query on everyone's minds: Will robots be our successors? This remains a perplexing unknown for now.

How Advanced is Too Advanced? Exploring the Boundaries of AI and Automation

The Moon Metal by Garrett Putman Serviss is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . THE TOP OF THE GRAND TETON THE TOP OF THE GRAND TETON The climbing soon became difficult, until at length we were going up hand over hand, taking advantage of crevices and knobs which an inexperienced eye would have regarded as incapable of affording a grip for the fingers or a support for the toes. Presently we arrived at the foot of a stupendous precipice, which was absolutely insurmountable by any ordinary method of ascent. Parts of it overhung, and everywhere the face of the rock was too free from irregularities to afford any footing, except to a fly. “Now, to borrow the expression of old Bunyan, we are hard put to it,” I remarked. “If you will go to the left I will take the right and see if there is any chance of getting up.” “I don’t believe we could find any place easier than this,” Hall replied, “and so up we go where we are.” “Have you a pair of wings concealed about you?” I asked, laughing at his folly. “Well, something nearly as good,” he responded, unstrapping his knapsack. He produced a silken bag, which he unfolded on the rock. “A balloon!” I exclaimed. “But how are you going to inflate it?” For reply Hall showed me a receptacle which, he said, contained liquid hydrogen, and which was furnished with a device for retarding the volatilization of the liquid so that it could be carried with little loss. “You remember I have a small laboratory in the abandoned mine,” he explained, “where we used to manufacture liquid air for blasting. This balloon I made for our present purpose. It will just suffice to carry up our rope, and a small but practically unbreakable grapple of hardened gold. I calculate to send the grapple to the top of the precipice with the balloon, and when it has obtained a firm hold in the riven rock there we can ascend, sailor fashion. You see the rope has knots, and I know your muscles are as trustworthy in such work as my own.” There was a slight breeze from the eastward, and the current of air slanting up the face of the peak assisted the balloon in mounting with its burden, and favored us by promptly swinging the little airship, with the grapple swaying beneath it, over the brow of the cliff into the atmospheric eddy above. As soon as we saw that the grapple was well over the edge we pulled upon the rope. The balloon instantly shot into view with the anchor dancing, but, under the influence of the wind, quickly returned to its former position behind the projecting brink. The grapple had failed to take hold. “‘Try, try again’ must be our motto now,” muttered Hall. We tried several times with the same result, although each time we slightly shifted our position. At last the grapple caught. “Now, all together!” cried my companion, and simultaneously we threw our weight upon the slender rope. The anchor apparently did not give an inch. “Let me go first,” said Hall, pushing me aside as I caught the first knot above my head. “It’s my device, and it’s only fair that I should have the first try.” In a minute he was many feet up the wall, climbing swiftly hand over hand, but occasionally stopping and twisting his leg around the rope while he took breath. “It’s easier than I expected,” he called down, when he had ascended about one hundred feet. “Here and there the rock offers a little hold for the knees.” I watched him, breathless with anxiety, and, as he got higher, my imagination pictured the little gold grapple, invisible above the brow of the precipice, with perhaps a single thin prong wedged into a crevice, and slowly ploughing its way towards the edge with each impulse of the climber, until but another pull was needed to set it flying! So vivid was my fancy that I tried to banish it by noticing that a certain knot in the rope remained just at the level of my eyes, where it had been from the start. Hall was now fully two hundred feet above the ledge on which I stood, and was rapidly nearing the top of the precipice. In a minute more he would be safe. Suddenly he shouted, and, glancing up with a leap of the heart, I saw that he was falling! He kept his face to the rock, and came down feet foremost. It would be useless to attempt any description of my feelings; I would not go through that experience again for the price of a battleship. Yet it lasted less than a second. He had dropped not more than ten feet when the fall was arrested. “All right!” he called, cheerily. “No harm done! It was only a slip.” But what a slip! If the balloon had not carried the anchor several yards back from the edge it would have had no opportunity to catch another hold as it shot forward. And how could we know that the second hold would prove more secure than the first? Hall did not hesitate, however, for one instant. Up he went again. But, in fact, his best chance was in going up, for he was within four yards of the top when the mishap occurred. With a sigh of relief I saw him at last throw his arm over the verge and then wriggle his body upon the ledge. A few seconds later he was lying on his stomach, with his face over the edge, looking down at me. “Come on!” he shouted. “It’s all right.” When I had pulled myself over the brink at his side I grasped his hand and pressed it without a word. We understood one another. “It was pretty close to a miracle,” he remarked at last. “Look at this.” The rock over which the grapple had slipped was deeply scored by the unyielding point of the metal, and exactly at the verge of the precipice the prong had wedged itself into a narrow crack, so firmly that we had to chip away the stone in order to release it. If it had slipped a single inch farther before taking hold it would have been all over with my friend. Such experiences shake the strongest nerves, and we sat on the shelf we had attained for fully a quarter of an hour before we ventured to attack the next precipice which hung beetling directly above us. It was not as lofty as the one we had just ascended, but it impended to such a degree that we saw we should have to climb our rope while it swung free in the air! Luckily we had little difficulty in getting a grip for the prongs, and we took every precaution to test the security of the anchorage, not only putting our combined weight repeatedly upon the rope, but flipping and jerking it with all our strength. The grapple resisted every effort to dislodge it, and finally I started up, insisting on my turn as leader. The height I had to ascend did not exceed one hundred feet, but that is a very great distance to climb on a swinging rope, without a wall within reach to assist by its friction and occasional friendly projections. In a little while my movements, together with the effect of the slight wind, had imparted a most distressing oscillation to the rope. This sometimes carried me with a nerve-shaking bang against a prominent point of the precipice, where I would dislodge loose fragments that kept Hall dodging for his life, and then I would swing out, apparently beyond the brow of the cliff below, so that, as I involuntarily glanced downward, I seemed to be hanging in free space, while the steep mountain-side, looking ten times steeper than it really was, resembled the vertical wall of an absolutely bottomless abyss, as if I were suspended over the edge of the world. I avoided thinking of what the grapple might be about, and in my haste to get through with the awful experience I worked myself fairly out of breath, so that, when at last I reached the rounded brow of the cliff, I had to stop and cling there for fully a minute before I could summon strength enough to lift myself over it. When I was assured that the grapple was still securely fastened I signalled to Hall, and he soon stood at my side, exclaiming, as he wiped the perspiration from his face: “I think I’ll try wings next time!” But our difficulties had only begun. As we had foreseen, it was a case of Alp above Alp, to the very limit of human strength and patience. However, it would have been impossible to go back. In order to descend the two precipices we had surmounted it would have been necessary to leave our life-lines clinging to the rocks, and we had not rope enough to do that. If we could not reach the top we were lost. Having refreshed ourselves with a bite to eat and a little stimulant, we resumed the climb. After several hours of the most exhausting work I have ever performed we pulled our weary limbs upon the narrow ridge, but a few square yards in area, which constitutes the apex of the Grand Teton. A little below, on the opposite side of a steep-walled gap which divides the top of the mountain into two parts, we saw the singular enclosure of stones which the early white explorers found there, and which they ascribed to the Indians, although nobody has ever known who built it or what purpose it served. The view was, of course, superb, but while I was admiring it in all its wonderful extent and variety, Hall, who had immediately pulled out his binocular, was busy inspecting the Syx works, the top of whose great tufted smoke column was thousands of feet beneath our level. Jackson’s Lake, Jenny’s Lake, Leigh’s Lake, and several lakelets glittered in the sunlight amid the pale grays and greens of Jackson’s Hole, while many a bending reach of the Snake River shone amid the wastes of sage-brush and rock. “There!” suddenly exclaimed Hall, “I thought I should find it.” “What?” “Take a look through my glass at the roof of Syx’s mill. Look just in the centre.” “Why, it’s open in the middle!” I cried as soon as I had put the glass to my eyes. “There’s a big circular hole in the centre of the roof.” “Look inside! Look inside!” repeated Hall, impatiently. “I see nothing there except something bright.” “Do you call it nothing because it is bright?” “Well, no,” I replied, laughing. “What I mean is that I see nothing that I can make anything of except a shining object, and all I can make of that is that it is bright.” “You’ve been in the Syx works many times, haven’t you?” “Yes.” “Did you ever see the opening in the roof?” “Never.” “Did you ever hear of it?” “Never.” “Then Dr. Syx doesn’t show his visitors everything that is to be seen.” “Evidently not since, as we know, he concealed the double tunnel and the room under the furnace.” “Dr. Syx has concealed a bigger secret than that,” Hall responded, “and the Grand Teton has helped me to a glimpse of it.” For several minutes my friend was absorbed in thought. Then he broke out: “I tell you he’s the most wonderful man in the world!” “Who, Dr. Syx? Well, I’ve long thought that.” “Yes, but I mean in a different way from what you are thinking of. Do you remember my asking you once if you believed in alchemy?” “I remember being greatly surprised by your question to that effect.” “Well, now,” said Hall, rubbing his hands with a satisfied air, while his eyes glanced keen and bright with the reflection of some passing thought, “Max Syx is greater than any alchemist that ever lived. If those old fellows in the dark ages had accomplished everything they set out to do, they would have been of no more consequence in comparison with our black-browed friend down yonder than—than my head is of consequence in comparison with the moon.” “I fear you flatter the man in the moon,” was my laughing reply. “No, I don’t,” returned Hall, “and some day you’ll admit it.” “Well, what about that something that shines down there? You seem to see more in it than I can.” But my companion had fallen into a reverie and didn’t hear my question. He was gazing abstractedly at the faint image of the waning moon, now nearing the distant mountain-top over in Idaho. Presently his mind seemed to return to the old magnet, and he whirled about and glanced down at the Syx mill. The column of smoke was diminishing in volume, an indication that the engine was about to enjoy one of its periodical rests. The irregularity of these stoppages had always been a subject of remark among practical engineers. The hours of labor were exceedingly erratic, but the engine had never been known to work at night, except on one occasion, and then only for a few minutes, when it was suddenly stopped on account of a fire. Just as Hall resumed his inspection two huge quarter spheres, which had been resting wide apart on the roof, moved towards one another until their arched sections met over the circular aperture which they covered like the dome of an observatory. “I expected it,” Hall remarked. “But come, it is mid-afternoon, and we shall need all of our time to get safely down before the light fades.” As I have already explained, it would not have been possible for us to return the way we came. We determined to descend the comparatively easy western slopes of the peak, and pass the night on that side of the mountain. Letting ourselves down with the rope into the hollow way that divides the summit of the Teton into two pinnacles, we had no difficulty in descending by the route followed by all previous climbers. The weather was fine, and, having found good shelter among the rocks, we passed the night in comfort. The next day we succeeded in swinging round upon the eastern flank of the Teton, below the more formidable cliffs, and, just at nightfall, we arrived at the station. As we passed the Syx mine the doctor himself confronted us. There was a very displeasing look on his dark countenance, and his sneer was strongly marked. “So you have been on top of the Teton?” he said. “Yes,” replied Hall, very blandly, “and if you have a taste for that sort of thing I should advise you to go up. The view is immense, as fine as the best in the Alps.” “Pretty ingenious plan, that balloon of yours,” continued the doctor, still looking black. “Thank you,” Hall replied, more suavely than ever. “I’ve been planning that a long time. You probably don’t know that mountaineering used to be my chief amusement.” The doctor turned away without pursuing the conversation. “I could kick myself,” Hall muttered as soon as Dr. Syx was out of earshot. “If my absurd wish to outdo others had not blinded me, I should have known that he would see us going up this side of the peak, particularly with the balloon to give us away. However, what’s done can’t be undone. He may not really suspect the truth, and if he does he can’t help himself, even though he is the richest man in the world.” About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Garrett Putman Serviss (2005). The Moon Metal. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8199/pg8199-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

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