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Understanding core principles that guide people’s decision making Hi I’m Jordan , I love helping people think & grow their products. Hope this helps! You can find me on Twitter and via my Newsletter :) We live in an exciting time where incremental changes in technology have the potential to have compounding forms of impact. The future is rapidly approaching — and perhaps more so than ever before, we are excited and eager for what is next. In an optimistic sense, the future promises to be brighter and bigger for many of us. The challenge is predicting what that future would look like. As humans, we tend to overestimate speed of adoption of new technologies but in the long run underestimate overall impact. So what are our best guesses on what will change in the future? Will we have flying cars? Virtual reality headsets? Chips in our brains? We’re all consumed and excited by what change. Rarely does the press or do we have conversations about what be different. will will not Perhaps that is even a more important question: “What will not change?” What are the fundamental parts of man kind that move us? Jeff Bezos provides ( ) a great explanation for how they have implemented that type of thinking into building Amazon: via Bill Gurley I very frequently get the question: ‘What’s going to change in the next 10 years?’ And that is a very interesting question; it’s a very common one. I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?’ And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two — because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time. … [I]n our retail business, we know that customers want low prices, and I know that’s going to be true 10 years from now. They want fast delivery; they want vast selection. It’s impossible to imagine a future 10 years from now where a customer comes up and says, ‘Jeff I love Amazon; I just wish the prices were a little higher,’ [or] ‘I love Amazon; I just wish you’d deliver a little more slowly.’ Impossible. And so the effort we put into those things, spinning those things up, we know the energy we put into it today will still be paying off dividends for our customers 10 years from now. When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it.” Understanding the first principles that motivate and drive consumer decision making is crucial to building any sort of business. So before you go and invent the next big thing — ask yourself what would motivate a consumer/business humans to want that thing and why they would want it. Is the reason a first order principle? Or is something a priority only in the moment? Thanks so much for reading! My name is and I write blog posts It would mean a ton to me if you could: Jordan Gonen every day. > Follow me on Twitter < If you ever have any questions, send me an email jordangonen1 at gmail dot com ! Thanks so much!

What is not going to change in the next 10 years?

So, you’ve got a business idea but are unsure how to determine whether it is worth pursuing. Or maybe you’ve already been through the mill and spent a year building a product no one wanted. For either of these scenarios, you are not alone. The issue is many startup leaders don’t find the right problem to solve; they fall in love with one idea and , ignoring any feedback they receive. That’s why, currently 9 out of 10 startups fail. try to force a fit As a seasoned entrepreneur and Product Management professional leading product development in , I have learned the value of finding that problem-solution fit first. But I also realized there needs to be more user-friendly business planning tools to give founders a helping hand. AdTech Startup leaders often leverage innovative tools like LivePlan and Biz Plan to get the answers to ‘What MVP will work?’ or ’Does this solution address the issue I aimed to resolve?’ These are excellent tools for entrepreneurs to put business ideas into pre-made structured frameworks, helping them figure out their target audience, customer demands, and industry landscape. However, on occasion, filling out these templates with built-out ideas can be overwhelming. Here are four more tips to help verify if you have a viable business idea. Explore ChatGPT Prompts With all the current rage, is the first obvious tool to use — and I have witnessed the true magic of AI when harnessed to empower entrepreneurs. ChatGPT can quickly help deliver your , using prompts to determine market-solution, customer, and product-founder fit. ChatGPT validation plan For example, let’s take this first pain point: Entrepreneurs often miss out on defining their unique advantage when starting a business. The ‘why me?’ part. That’s why taking a moment to analyze your education, experience, background, and network through ChatGPT is worthwhile: Do you have access to a specific customer set or expertise in a niche area? For example, suppose you want brand and start this food company in the US. You realize §you have a close friend who owns America’s top food distribution company and could have distribution lined up. to launch a new healthy snack To more thoroughly explain your unique advantage, though, you can simply ask ChatGPT the obvious: “I’m thinking of starting a business that [does XYZ], and I want to understand my unique strengths in making it a success. I have experience in [XX] and access to people who [XX]. I want you to ask me questions to help me think through what unique advantages or risks I may have.” Don’t be surprised to see a reasonably adequate action plan listing what skills you can maximize and other activities you need to complete to get your business off the ground. Next up, it is worth asking ChatGPT who the ideal customer would be for your business. These kinds of prompts can do the trick: “Can you describe my potential customer base’s demographics and explain their problems? What products or services are they using now to tackle these issues? How could my business add more value?” And finally, founders must always ensure enough customer demand to buy their product or service. In other words, is the problem you are addressing big enough? To find out, ask ChatGPT something like: “Can you give me five reasons someone would want to buy my product?” Conduct Customer Interviews Once you’ve collated the input and feedback about your business idea from , you can put it into practice with customer discovery. A round of interviews with prospective customers means you can understand your user base’s problems, empowering you to provide a more effective and valuable solution. Those startups who have failed may find they . generative AI skipped this stage Another pitfall is asking friends and family for advice or feedback. They’ll be overly generous, which can be misleading. Instead, get speaking to real prospective users because an idea is just an idea unless you have a paying customer. For early-stage startups, using tools such as Google Forms or Survey Monkey for user testing can get the job done. But for more established companies with larger budgets, there are tools like CustomerGauge. Also, remember that ChatGPT can come in handy here for . You just need to describe your business and potential customer base for the LLM to create three compelling value propositions that address how your company solves a problem. When it comes to the customer interviews, you can ask which of the three value propositions resonates most. generating questions If you feel particularly adventurous, you could build a prototype of your digital product or put wireframes together with a design tool like before getting in front of customers. Users could interact with the prototype directly and provide insights about usability via comment mode. And Figma’s screen recording software can capture customer interviews. Figma Plus Customer interviews are invaluable if you want to know if people would pay for your service or product — and how much. They can also be an opportunity to gather feedback or ask what essential features you need to include to win business. Leverage Landing Page Apps Landing pages are like interactive online business flyers and are a great way to target different customer segments with tailored information. It’s also a low-cost, efficient, data-driven approach to test market potential. Why do you think even established companies use landing pages to launch new products, letting customers preorder or sign up for a waitlist? By tracking metrics like page visits, click-through rates, and conversion rates, you can determine if there’s genuine interest in your idea. The company Carrd helps entrepreneurs make free landing pages, while ConvertKit can drive email newsletter signups with its built-in email marketing tool. But many other apps are available, too, enabling entrepreneurs to build one-page websites that are easy to tweak and customize without any serious coding. These apps also often facilitate A/B testing and the experimentation of different headlines, images, or CTAs to optimize conversion rates. Lastly, to convert prospects, there needs to be an action for them to take, like signing up for a newsletter, filling out a form, contacting you, or purchasing an e-book. Overall, a landing page is a safer bet than building a full product or service: If the business idea doesn’t resonate with an audience, you have yet to invest heavily. Examine Intelligent AI Assistance for Business Planning Finally, even though today’s business planning software platforms have good intentions, sometimes they hinder entrepreneurs’ ability to ideate, design, and launch successful businesses. That’s because current platforms are missing a learning component to assist entrepreneurs in articulating their intentions and minimizing project timelines. This is where an AI-powered co-pilot comes in to make business planning more accessible and democratize AI for all. Newer AI-driven platforms and apps are now available that use Open AI’s APIs, for example, alongside fine-tuning models, to produce idea evaluators that inform an entrepreneur if their idea is worth pursuing or not. The platforms can assess the uniqueness of the solution and business model, giving entrepreneurs a score and offering suggestions for improvements in key areas. The feedback mechanism and personalized assessment of an idea, target market, or problem statement can help entrepreneurs iterate quickly and develop business plans. But remember, receiving a high score on these AI-powered platforms doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be successful — it is just a barometer. However, the valuable insights and recommendations provided could optimize data-driven decision-making and enhance the success rate of new ventures. Today, startups are up against many factors: talent shortages, funding obstacles, fierce competition, and an economic downturn. However, these emerging companies are essential for the global economy’s resilience to encourage innovation, job creation, and technological development — but only when a startup effectively addresses a pressing issue and can sustain operations. That’s why leveraging different technologies for better business planning is vital, providing a more favorable environment for startups to thrive and meaning we are all better off. This article was originally published by on Danish Ahmed The Sociable.

Evaluating the Viability of Your Business Idea with Modern Tools

The Play-to-Earn marketplace is gaining traction. The lockdown measures implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that people have turned to gaming in droves. But Play-to-Earn, when combined with crypto, takes on an entirely new meaning than merely ‘gaming’. Tokens earned in the cryptocurrency environment can be turned in for other tokens, which can be used to buy real things - like clothes, gift cards, flight tickets, property, etc. ** Users are highly incentivized to participate in an entirely new ecosystem with multiple benefits. And it can also be a fun experience built around social networking. Breaking Down Play-to-Earn Games The central concept behind Play-To-Earn gaming is that you are rewarded for your participation with tokens. But we need to explore a few other topics to really break it down, namely NFTs and the Metaverse. Users will typically be rewarded in the form of a native token and they can trade these for NFTs - . This fancy name just means that it’s a unique token. If an NFT is the same as another, it's not an NFT. An NFT denotes ownership of one single asset. Two strong use cases for NFTs right now are artistic creations and digital trophies in online gaming. Non-Fungible Tokens NFTs can also be used for eBooks, music, website address, property ownership, the applications are endless. This is why this concept is taking the world by storm. The Play-to-Earn ecosystem is also taking off as it is a major marketplace and environment for the earning and trading of such NFTs. Just What is the Metaverse? The Metaverse is not just limited to online gaming worlds such as Fortnite, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, etc. it really denotes an online virtual (non-physical) environment where two avatars can interact. If the universe is all things physical, then the Metaverse would be all things virtual, including AR, VR, social media, online gaming, cryptocurrency, etc. Facebook is already attempting to monopolize the Metaverse, but has a very slim chance of succeeding due to the power of blockchain, where better games with intelligent token distributions are being built. The decentralized nature of blockchain means that it be monopolized. Blockchains are basically designed so that there is no central point of power. can't Even attempts to purchase blockchain-based companies will ultimately fail due to the democratic nature and ethos of distributed ledger technology. So the Metaverse is well and truly open for business and nobody can say for certain where the Web 3.0 future is going to take us. Play-to-Earn is Here To Stay Many might question the viability of Play-To-Earn marketplaces as a means to earn a living. Do professional adults truly want to develop a career as a fictional character in a virtual universe? Yet the marketplace is closer to home and more real than you might think. , for instance, is a real-life Play-to-Earn ecosystem that is designed to disrupt the massive gig marketplace (UBER, UpWork, Fiverr, Craigslist). Users will have their own profiles and select their own skills and hobbies. They can earn up to $1,500 in rewards a month by doing real, actual work for people who need things done in their area. It simply makes the working environment more meaningful more playful. H3RO3S and Another powerful and established marketplace is . This is one of the leading NFT projects that describes itself as a Social Gaming Economy. It works as an aggregate marketplace for the trading of NFTs collected across the Metaverse. The social aspect of gaming is massive as people can meet up due to their common interests and interactions in the metaverse. A central hub of communication and information sharing is crucial towards establishing a fair, thriving economy. Players need to know which projects are legitimate and which ones are trying to fleece their user base. Gamerse The power of Play-to-Earn and NFTs are compounded when the implications of augmented and virtual reality are considered. Pokemon Go was a precursor of what is soon to come with VR/AR. Players will interact in the Metaverse while using this technology, and this will combine physical actions in an extremely futuristic context. Companies such as has designed a game called VAIL that allows you to play an enhanced social experience and these technologies will, at some stage, incorporate NFT and Create-to-Earn environments seamlessly. The project itself already boasts NFTs of their in-game pets which are playable, interactable, and breedable. AEXLAB Get Involved in the Play-to-Earn Marketplace Most, but not all, Play-to-Earn games are free, as opposed to the Free-to-Play model. Some require an upfront investment. While many might balk at the idea of paying for these games, it's worth remembering that games take a long time to develop and need funding. It’s also worth noting that it is useful to actually spend money on a product that you believe in. Using Google and Facebook is great, except that your data is sold and your messages are stored and monitored. The charges are merely undisclosed. In other words, it’s good to actively support companies that are changing things for the better. Disclaimer: The author holds tokens in some of the above-mentioned companies. The opinions in this article belong to the author alone and should not be considered investment advice.

Examining The Viability of The Play-to-Earn Marketplaces

Cryptocurrencies are the future and Blockchain is here to stay! Cryptocurrency market continues to plunge with major currencies losing over 40% market cap in just a span of one month (From the second week of November 2018 to the second week of December 2018). Bitcoin’s dominance over the marketplace escalates while the bearish momentum is still lurking. Despite the slowdown in the trade, visionaries like Tim Draper, Peter Lynch, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey, Patrick Byrne and many more still believe that cryptocurrencies will be reshaping the future economy. 2018 had a great start but sluggish end In the very first week of 2018, cryptomarket peaked to an all-time high with more than $60 Billion of cryptocurrency traded within 24 hours and the total market capitalization reaching over $830 billion. Over the course of the next month, the entire market witnessed a free fall — crashing by almost 2/3rd to just $277 Billion in market capitalization. Source: Coinmarketcap For skeptics, this correction was a pivotal opportunity to combine effort and discredit the value of cryptocurrency assets. This exertion could be largely seen on part of news sites. Every action has a volatile reaction in Crypto space as the market is sensitive to news and many other factors. An indexed ROI graph of all ICOs that constitutes to 75% of all Cryptocurrencies indicates that 300+ ICOs ended Q2 with a positive delta over the period May to June 2018. Indexed RoI graph of all ICOs combined (Source: InWara’s Database) Even though the ICO market appears to have been in a downtrend, an individual could have made a 5X-10X profit had he bought into the right ICOs. It is fair to say that Cryptos grew in 2018 as the number of VC investments increased significantly. However, trade volumes and crowdfunding have taken a blowback. Possible causes behind this bearish trend It would be absolutely naive to believe that the crypto market is not manipulated or controlled by market mechanism to some degree as referenced in the article by super crypto titled ‘ ’. Bitcoin-Manipulation-Cartel After the Bitcoin’s price rally of 1K to 20k from Jan 2017 to Dec 2017 and 95% crash during Dec 2017 and Dec 2018, it is evident that the market trend follows a cyclic pattern and it is inevitable to see both the massive booms and massive bursts. However, what’s interesting to note is that the institutional grade investors and venture capitalists are buying in crypto while the market is still REKT. Private funding has seen significant growth in 2018 with total rounds of funding doubling as compared to 2017. Private Funding & Round Size By Quarter (Source: InWara’s database) The active rise of Venture Capital in pre-sale and private sale stages is an indication that the crypto market is beyond FOMO and FUD phases and the plummeting of the crypto market can be legitly explained by cartel theory. Future of Cryptocurrencies and blockchain Blockchain will save the cryptocurrencies as the potential scalability, lightening network, smart contracts and the solutions provided by the distributed ledger will possibly be reshaping the future economy. The underlying values of blockchain technology and its decentralization of transaction network has the potential to solve the wide spectrum of problems that exist in a centralized network. The current issue with digital currencies is that most presume that the digital currencies are a new form of currency and are in a war against the existing fiat currency. It is vital to understand that it’s not about replacing the fiat currency but revamping the way funds are transferred and reinventing the way assets are managed. Are the Companies behind ICOs legit? In Q3, 2018 the number of product driven ICOs have seen a significant growth compared to Q2, 2018. This shows the seriousness of companies behind ICOs in their project. % of ICOs with a working prototype (Source: InWara’s database) Product roadmap: Expect maximum launches in Q4, 2018 Source: InWara’s Finance sector report Methodology for product roadmap: InWara has mapped the dates of roadmap events that have a combination of the key words ‘launch’, ‘mainnet’, ‘testnet’ and ‘release’ 500+ companies have projected roadmap events in 2018. With investors getting vigilant, companies have realized the significance of transparency in reporting elements of their ICO. However, current trends suggest delays in the roadmap making Q1, 2019 an exciting prospect. Considering all these factors and also the long due hearing of SEC for ETF’s approval in December 2018 which is now postponed to February 2019, one may say that the long-standing winter in the crypto market may come to an end.

Bitcoin & Crypto market downtrend reasons explained | Bitcoin & Cryptocurrencies Viability Analysis

You’re at a meetup talking tech with the startup folks and the term “MVP” keeps getting batted around. You know MVP stands for minimum viable product, but what does that mean? really Product or Process? For starters, it’s worth noting what the “M,” “V,” and “P” actually stand for — that is, “Minimum Viable Product,” the version of a product that consists of only the features needed to deliver value for those early adopters. Remember, the idea here is to get these folks to want to spend money on your product. Once they do, your product development will start learning from the market in the form of user feedback. It’s important to get this feedback loop going so that your product development decisions are based on customer feedback — not intuition. Prototype vs MVP The idea behind an MVP originates in “The Lean Startup” by , so let’s start with this concept of an MVP first: Eric Ries An MVP is the version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort. –Eric Ries Validated learning. Least effort. Doesn’t sound very sexy. Let’s jump over to Techopedia and hear what they have to say: An MVP is the most pared down version of a product that can still be released. An MVP has three key characteristics: Has enough value that people are willing to use it or buy it initiallyDemonstrates enough future benefit to retain early adopterProvides a feedback loop to guide future development Techopedia Ok, some marketing considerations. And it sounds like the emphasis is on testing rather than building. Let’s review: You want people to pay for it. You want it to impress the folks who line up to get the latest in tech. And you want to provide your customers with a way to give you feedback to improve it moving forward. The Concept of Iteration Eric Ries calls it the “build, measure, learn, loop”. Basically you have to test something to get it right. The core idea behind an MVP is validated learning. As an entrepreneur you want to be constantly checking your assumptions and making adjustments wherever needed. Think of the MVP as an exercise in temporarily shaking off that obstinate entrepreneurial vision of yours. Remember that markets don’t care about entrepreneurs. They listen to customers. Make sure your vision corresponds with reality, aka ‘what customers want.’ This is the part where you fall out of love with your idea and submit to a less warm and fuzzy objective reality. Numbers are as objective as it gets. You should be tracking metrics, and metrics galore — site metrics, user metrics, social metrics, sales metrics, cost metrics, etc. If it can be assigned a number you should be paying attention to how that number is changing. Hint: Developing Products Or Customers? In the app space you want your product in the hands of those early adopters who already get what you’re trying to do as soon as possible. This group is going to understand your product out of the gate and be able to explain it to the folks who won’t. They already want you’re selling. And not only do these people give the best feedback, they also do free word-of-mouth marketing! Features Versus Benefits It’s becoming clear why you want to keep things as simple as possible at the beginning, no? As an entrepreneur you already have way too many assumptions to make about what is or isn’t an opportunity. Once you start building a product you’re going to have to make a bunch of additional assumptions about which features to include or leave out. You have no idea whether or not these decisions will ultimately yield the benefits that your customers actually want, but you have to start somewhere. Wouldn’t it bуe nice if you could check these assumptions throughout the process of building your product? The MVP enables you to do just that. Think of it as the ace up the entrepreneur’s sleeve. With an MVP you can simultaneously build a product, test the market, and flex your assumptions about the features that customers value. And as you know, more value for the customer means more value for the entrepreneur. From Testing Features To Designing Experiences Since the time when the concept of an MVP first appeared, the market for software products has changed. Customers don’t want to buy poorly designed products and expect better functionality from newborn applications. Businesses get only one chance to make a first impression. This is where UX comes in. With everyone throwing around this UX term nowadays it would seem that the tech space has developed a more sophisticated concept of value. As apps have become increasingly nuanced — both in terms of user interface (UI) and UX — now even early adopters need that ‘wow factor’ in the preliminary versions of digital products. Alas, if only there were some middle ground between iteration and design. Not to worry, Jeff Gothelf — thought leader in the burgeoning Lean UX movement and author of Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience — has found it. He believes that incorporating UX into agile product development starts with understanding why designers aren’t so keen on MVPs in the first place, pointing to three main reasons: MVPs don’t allow for that unrestricted ideation phase during which designers can apply blue-sky thinking to business problems. Jeff refers to this as BDUF (Big Design Up Front) — a term from software development’s ‘waterfall’ school of thought. In waterfall, planning is emphasized over iterating (the opposite of how the opposing ‘agile’ camp sees it). MVPs force designers to work with non-designers and refocus the design process through the lens of engineering concepts, which runs counter to designers’ natural approach. The notion of ‘good enough to deploy’ is antithetical to the philosophy of design, which is based on realizing robust and complete experiences. Remember, there’s a fundamental difference between how designers and engineers create value — the latter iterate, while the former ideate. Let’s delve a little deeper into what drives each of these camps. So it’s not hard to see why an MVP — by definition lacking this UX element — would find it hard to drive value in markets driven by such (think digital products). In a post for Jerry Cao of UXPin offers some insight into how entrepreneurs could miss the point and fail to properly manage an MVP strategy: UXBooth Perhaps the best way to think about the MVP is Brandon Schauer’s cupcake theory, which emphasizes a complete experience each step of the way. Just like a cupcake is a better (and more desirable) MVP for cake than a bowl of flour, make sure the MVP always communicates the value of the product. –Jerry Cao Or in other words: You don’t delight customers with product development; you delight them with products. And instead of MVP try to think about MDP (Minimum Delightful Product). Viability Or Delight? In his blog , serial entrepreneur Adam Berrey proposes an interesting solution to the problem at hand. Enter the ‘Minimum Delightful Product’ (MDP). Startup Blender MVP vs MDP An MDP is just as ‘minimum product’ as an MVP only with the MDP the goal is to optimize for UX (delight) rather than time to market. It keeps the MVP’s ‘build only what you need’ spirit while slightly redefining ‘need.’ With the MDP the goal is to do more than start testing features out of the gate — it’s a means of engaging customers. So then what’s the formula for delight? Based on his experience, Adam breaks it down into three core elements: ‘Gestalt’ is just a fancy word for how people understand things as complete/irreducible concepts. It’s an idea from psychology that has applications across various disciplines. Adam sees the right combination of UX and functionality as the source of a fundamentally wonderful and — over time — relatively constant experience. Product Gestalt: Beyond the engineering context, it’s useful to think of design as the means by which people relate to each other’s aesthetic sensibilities. Adam further adds that with regard to products this element should somehow capture a sense of beauty. Design: Here’s where we have to take a long hard look at MVPs and question just how much delight they actually inspire among early adopters. The MDP on the other hand iterates according to a higher standard of craftsmanship — that is, your customers don’t just get your value proposition, they feel it at every stage. Quality: Delightful products users fall in love with. They immediately become part of a user’s life or work. When a product is delightful it just makes sense. It works the way you’d expect and the experience is highly satisfying. Delightful products are adopted faster, get better word of mouth, and create higher satisfaction. –Adam Berrey So Are MVPs Obsolete Now? MVP methodology is that as you’re engineering your product development you’re simultaneously developing your customer, as well as iteratively validating your market. It’s not about the it’s about the . what, how MVP is more than just a product. As Jerry Cao of UXPin puts it: The MVP is the smallest experiment that either proves or disproves [your] assumptions about a business idea. –Jerry Cao So, It doesn’t matter what you choose MVP or MDP development to test the business idea and validate your market, just remember, don’t think prototype, think process. This article was originally published in Ezetech blog and shared with Medium community. For more articles for entrepreneurs sign up to . our bot And don’t forget to give us your 👏 below!

MVP vs MDP = Viability vs Delight. What You Really Need?

This post was primarily written by Viktor Bunin . See end of piece for a list of contributors. Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto to be a which would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. It emerged in the middle of the Great Recession; as individuals lost their homes and savings, banks and businesses were going bankrupt, and the government was printing money to stimulate the economy through multiple rounds of Quantitative Easing. It was designed to be an alternative to our current system of what was considered irresponsible government and central bank policies; a way to reimagine the role of money in our society. peer-to-peer electronic cash system The brilliant decentralized blockchain design and incentive structure aligned the interests of miners, users, and developers to keep the system healthy and disincentivize any group from accumulating too much power since an attack or imbalance would hurt all and decrease the value of the network — and in turn, their investment. Although there are still many challenges around scaling, environmental impact, price swings, etc., Bitcoin has been revolutionary and laid the technological groundwork for Satoshi’s vision as a true alternative to FIAT currencies. However, we currently, tentatively believe that Bitcoin’s deflationary token economics will prevent it from being adopted and used as a global digital currency. Deflationary economic policies, often associated with the Austrian school of economics and Libertarian school of thought, sound great in theory, but quickly fall apart as you deconstruct them. The biggest gripe about inflation is that our money loses a little bit of purchasing power every year and a deflationary economic policy promises, at first glance, to solve that problem and have your hard earned cash appreciate without any effort on your part. This part is true — money would gain in purchasing power so your savings will be “worth” more over time. However, it is not an accident that the United States has overwhelmingly abandoned deflationary policies, moving off the gold standard in 1933 (during the Great Depression) and completely severing the dollar-gold link in 1971, with the rest of the world following suit at various times. This is because such policies provide perverse economic incentives for growth and investment while simultaneously being disastrous during economic downturns. What follows is a series of propositions and arguments examining Bitcoin’s deflationary token economics from an economic, user experience, and incentive perspective to determine its viability as a global digital currency. Assumptions: For the purposes of this discussion, let’s keep things simple and define money as a unit of measurement that allows us to compare unlike goods and services based on how much we value them (i.e., apples to oranges). As an example, a neighbor might pay you $300 to paint his fence which you then go and use to buy a $300 pair of shoes, meaning you/society associate the same value with painting the fence and that pair of shoes. We will be discussing inflation and deflation from a monetary unit, not general economic, perspective. For example, U.S. history had multiple periods with inflationary currency during a deflationary economic period (economic downturns). In traditional FIAT, a deflating economy leads directly to decreased consumption, layoffs, etc. While we think this will also be true in a BTC-denominated economy, we will not make this argument as it has already been made many times by other publications in favor of other, non-traditional reasoning We will not be commenting on Bitcoin as a store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account, because there are enough articles written about it and, although relevant to this article, would require a significantly lengthier piece without significant value add Line of Reasoning: Inflationary (FIAT) and deflationary (gold & BTC) currencies have different incentive structures and therefore result in different behaviors. Their primary difference is how they treat the past: inflation erodes the value you created while deflation increases that value. So with inflation, you have to reinvest that value to create more, greater value (by expanding operations, buying better equipment to increase your margin, expanding to other neighborhoods that desperately need your services, etc.). If you do not, your money will last you for a while, but it will have less purchasing power over time. The inflationary incentive structure, put in plain English, is that you have to grow and cannot ride on the coattails of your past successes. Deflation, on the other hand, continuously rewards you for creating value in the past, regardless of what you are doing in the present. Once you have earned money for creating value, your incentive to continue contributing to the world is significantly diminished because deflation is perpetually sustaining you over time by giving that earned money greater purchasing power. Debt is arguably one of the greatest human inventions because it allows for the smooth transition of saved up capital to be put to use by another person to create value. The owner of the capital gets a certain rate of return, allowing them to grow their capital, and the borrower is able to keep whatever returns she’s able to create on top of what she must pay back. This doesn’t apply to just complicated financial instruments; the U.S. student debt market is a perfect example of individuals agreeing to use another’s capital to invest in themselves, thereby increasing their value creation / earning potential, on the assumption that this increase will be greater than the rate at which they borrowed capital. The problem with BTC-denominated (deflationary) debt is that the real value (purchasing power) of this debt increases over time as the value of the denominational asset grows. This means that you now need to create a significantly larger amount of value because the burden of debt is that much higher. This is a big problem because it will add an additional burden on individuals and institutions using debt-based financing, the primary driver of innovation and investment. The other challenge with deflationary asset-based debt is that it causes an increase in real interest rates. Other than a few isolated cases of (where you literally pay someone to take your money), the usual nominal interest rate does not fall below 0%, which in today’s inflationary world means the lowest real we’ve seen was as low as -2%. The problem with deflation is that if we assume that the interest rate does not generally fall below 0%, then at 2% deflation, the real risk free rate of return is sitting at 2%. Because this rate is generally used as a benchmark, all real interest rates will tend to be higher even though their nominal values may be lower. Negative Interest Rate Policies risk free rate rate of return Higher real interest rates are a big problem because most investments in productivity-increasing innovations are marginal. They aren’t going to revolutionize the planet in one go… they make incremental improvements that can, over time, add up to huge leaps. For example, cryptocurrencies were talked about and worked on for more than 20 years before Bitcoin came into existence. A higher real interest rate increases the expected rate of return on investment, meaning that lower-value add or higher risk projects will not merit investment, resulting in a decreased rate of innovation. Therefore, deflationary currency promotes dynastic wealth by incentivizing hoarding and disincentivizing investment. One of the reasons the U.S. is so successful is because the system disincentivizes dynastic wealth through inflation and inheritance taxes. For better or for worse, the rich and poor are all on a treadmill with the same premise: keep contributing to society if you want to keep up and stay relevant. describes a situation in which the nominal price, of anything, is resistant to change. This is generally broken down into two components: price stickiness and wage stickiness. Both are important. Nominal rigidity Most individuals are happy thinking about the nominal price of their coffee decreasing because they think of it as now becoming cheaper, but the reality is that, just like with inflationary currency, the real price stays largely the same. You don’t suddenly value coffee as a more valuable part of your life for which you are willing to pay a larger percentage of your salary. If the price of coffee went up 20x over the past 100 years, it’s actually likely that the annual salary went up >20x due to efficiencies and supply chain improvements, so coffee is probably cheaper for you than for your ancestors! Wage stickiness is, we think, the more important point to bring up from a psychological, not economic, perspective. A common economic refrain is that denominating salaries in a deflationary currency will drive unemployment as wages are sticky-down (meaning they rise easy, but fall with great difficulty). The logic then states that this is especially true during economic downturns as currencies tend to appreciate while salaries fall, leading to greater firing as the effect is larger using a deflationary currency. While we agree with this line of reasoning, we want to call special attention to the human aspect of wages — if people often equate money with value, then our wage is a measurement of how much our contributions are valued by society. Our self-worth and ego are on the line and although the real value of the wage may be increasing, that effect is invisible, while a nominally decreasing paycheck is very visible. Lastly, we want to highlight what happens during economic downturns. Irving Fisher wrote a seminal piece in 1933 called in which he theorized that over-investment, on its own, is not sufficient to cause an economic downturn until it is combined with debt and deflation. His essay contained 49 articles, of which 29–32 (below) are the most relevant for our purposes, but which are all worth reading. The Debt-Deflation Theory of Great Depressions This was disastrous during the last deflationary, gold-based currency, and it would be disastrous today if backed by BTC. Conclusion: Given the evidence that we have seen, we believe Bitcoin’s deflationary token economics prevent it from being viable as a global digital currency. We expect one of the following outcomes: Bitcoin will remain deflationary and will solidly become a store of value, serving as the world’s “new gold” while another cryptocurrency serves as the actual currency used as cash and backing for financial instruments Bitcoin will hard fork to become inflationary, which will cause a precipitous drop in its value and due to lack of faith in the protocol’s inalterability (which we think it would survive if done early enough) Bitcoin will remain deflationary and serve in some sort of two rails capacity with the existing FIAT system that enables peer-to-peer cross-border payments while maintaining national economic sovereignty As to the Austrian vs Keynesian debate, our best advice is to meet in the middle. Austrian economic theory has been thoroughly disproven as an effective model for our society, but Keynesian economic theory has its own faults. The Fed into our economy during the recession while former to pay our debtors and avoid default. These aren’t bugs of Keynesian economics, they’re features; ones that will eventually collapse. We hope that blockchain will be a new paradigm that can take the best of both models to create a better system for all. pumped $4 trillion U.S. President Barack Obama was hours away from printing a $1 trillion coin Sources: https://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2014/04/money https://www.wired.com/2013/11/bitcoin-and-deflation/amp https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/978/economics/definition-of-deflation/ http://www.macrotrends.net/1329/us-dollar-index-historical-chart https://campus.fsu.edu/bbcswebdav/users/jcalhoun/Courses/Growth_of_American_Economy/Chapter_Supplemental_Readings/Chapter_23/Fisher-The_Debt_Deflation_Theory.pdf https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Deflationary_spiral https://www.investinblockchain.com/bitcoin-is-a-deflationary-currency/ https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21599053-chronic-deflation-may-keep-bitcoin-displacing-its-fiat-rivals-money https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/01/14/2088062/what-is-the-relationship-between-inflation-and-investment/ Credit Ben Rodriguez: Ben@parea.io Charles Hwang: Charles@lightning.capital Neha Singh: Neha_singh1@outlook.com Chase Collum: collumchase@gmail.com Errata We are only human and we make mistakes. We will include any types of revisions or lapses in logic when found or brought up to us in a dedicated section at the end of each of our essays. In addition, if you have any suggestions for future essays such as formatting, or topics you’d like to see written about discussed, drop us an email at or leave a comment. hello@parea.io

The impact of Bitcoin’s deflationary token economics on its viability as a global digital currency

Overview The Ripio Credit Network (RCN) is a protocol based on smart contracts and blockchain technology, which builds upon a current service offered by Ripio in their operating country of Argentina, Ripio Credit Services. The protocol aims to enable global connections between peer to peer (P2P) lenders and borrowers, regardless of currency. RCN will look to reduce traditional bank lending costs and fees, while offering a superior credit experience for both parties. RCN’s main point of differentiation within their network protocol is an “old school” credit guarantor, i.e. Cosigner. By including a loan guarantor (Cosigner​), RCN seeks to minimize the Lender’s credit risk in case of a default by taking over the defaulters loan payments while simultaneously seeking resolution within the country of loan origin. Business Model and Strategy RCN seeks to marry the P2P internet lending economy with the frictionless perks of blockchain decentralization to offer a better credit experience to the banked and unbanked population. For example, the rise of the P2P loan ecosystem enabled greater access to loan investments for investors while providing a more efficient, faster, and cheaper loan for borrowers. However, the lender under certain circumstances had limited recourse if loans went into default or arrears; especially if the Borrower and Lender were located in different areas of the world, under different credit laws. Beyond the technology, the value proposition that RCN is offering to clients is a loan guarantee, Thus, if a loan made by a Lender goes into default or arrears, the Cosigner (guarantor) will assume the liability and make the lender whole (no loss of principal and/or interest payments). RCN’s remedial approach to credit analysis should be sufficient to bootstrap the network in the early days until more actors join globally. i.e. in theory a risk-free interest rate yield. Quantitative Model Rating* Pugilist’s proprietary machine learning model generates a probability of viability that is subject to early stage investment return standards. However, given the early stage nature of these investments, the model should be viewed as directionally accurate versus a crystal ball. Pugilist’s probability of viability is that RCN be a viable ICO. 52.28% WILL Conclusion RCN has a solid team, advisors, and niche market, which should be advantageous for executing their product roadmap. However, the Management Team should take our disclosure recommendations into consideration in order to drive transparency and trust within the network; especially during these early bootstrapped days. Ultimately, RCN’s success will be tied to the growth of the blockchain universe and P2P lending in Latin America, good network incentives, and prudent credit and default management. Pugilist believes RCN has a decent probability of being a viable network despite needing to overcome several hurdles in the short term. Pugilist’s Investment Rating* *see full report appendix for rating methodology Download the full report here . — — is a research and investment firm that operates at the intersection of FinTech and Blockchain. We democratize research for blockchain enthusiasts and individual investors. Pugilist Ventures if you got an ounce of digital gold from this read. Please send your comments or requests and feel free to peruse our prior research . Please clap here here — — Neither the author of this article, nor Pugilist Ventures, provide investment, financial, or legal advice. This site cannot substitute for professional advice and independent factual verification. The content provided on this site is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as any kind of solicitation for investment in any investment opportunity. Disclaimer:

Ripio Token Investment Report Sheds Light on Viability

BAMK•OF•NAKAMOTO•DOLLAR In a groundbreaking move, new crypto startup BAMK is set to revolutionize the Bitcoin blockchain with the introduction of the Nakamoto Dollar (NUSD), a protocol-agnostic synthetic USD stablecoin. This initiative first launched via the Bitcoin Runes protocol, in what we can assume was a very clever marketing strategy, potentially ushering in a new era of decentralized finance (DeFi) on the Bitcoin network. Here's an in-depth look at BAMK's ambitious project and its potential impact on the market. The Rise of the Runes Protocol The Runes protocol enhances Bitcoin's capability by enabling the creation of digital tokens, significantly improving transaction speed and cost-effectiveness. This innovation is akin to what Ethereum achieved with tokenization, leading to an influx of new tokens and capital. With Runes, Bitcoin now has the infrastructure to support similar growth, paving the way for projects like BAMK to deploy via Bitcoin (Note: $BAMK was launched via Bitcoin Runes Protocol, and $NUSD, or similar, while not yet released for minting, will likely be protocol agnostic, think BRC20 potentially). BAMK and the Nakamoto Dollar BAMK, short for Bamk of Nakamoto Dollar, aims to create a 1:1 USD synthetic stablecoin on the Bitcoin network, using the ticker $NUSD (Nakamoto USD). Their project, BAMK Protocol or BAMK for short (initially, the NAKADO Protocol), seeks to establish the first Bitcoin Layer 1 synthetic dollar as was first inspired by ideas from crypto visionary Arthur Hayes. Key Features and Phases of the BAMK Project Phase 1: Bootstrapping with Ethena:

BAMK has developed a proprietary growth protocol to create a synthetic dollar, starting with a native bond token to incentivize total value locked (TVL) on Bitcoin Layer 1.
A public mint of the B.O.N.D. token (now $BAMK on exchanges) has been initiated to attract initial liquidity.


Phase 2: Hedging Mechanism:

The NUSD stablecoin will be 100% hedged by holding a long spot position in BTC and a short perpetuals position, ensuring stability despite market volatility.


Future Integration:

NUSD aims to be protocol-agnostic, and compatible with various token standards and protocols, allowing for broad adoption and integration across platforms. The team behind the project tell us that it is likely NUSD will launch on BRC20 first with a 5-byte ticker. Watch this space! Strategic Decisions and Market Impact From their Twitter/X and also voa conversations we have had with the BAMK team, we can see that BAMK was approached by venture capitalists who were ready to invest at a $40 million valuation. However, the team decided to forgo VC funding to maintain independence and foster community involvement. Instead, they minted 21 billion $BAMK tokens to incentivize TVL and engage the degen trading community. In other words, think of this as a grassroots model. Potential Market Impact Uncapped Potential for Capital Inflow:

The introduction of NUSD on the Bitcoin network holds uncapped potential for capital inflow. Unlike Ethereum-based stablecoins like USDT and USDC, which are capped through banking regulations and restrictions, NUSD aims to operate without these constraints. This could lead to a significant increase in on-chain liquidity and attract substantial capital to the Bitcoin network【24†source】.


Enhanced Bitcoin Utility:

Introducing a stablecoin directly on Bitcoin can enhance its utility, making it a more versatile asset for transactions, lending, and other financial services.
The synthetic nature of NUSD ensures that it remains stable despite Bitcoin's volatility, providing a reliable medium of exchange and store of value.


Community and Decentralization:

BAMK's decision to prioritize community involvement over VC funding aligns with the decentralized ethos of Bitcoin.
By incentivizing participation through the $BAMK token, BAMK aims to build a robust and engaged community that supports the project's growth and sustainability. Challenges While the potential benefits are significant, there are challenges to consider. The success of NUSD hinges on the effectiveness of the hedging mechanism and the broader adoption of the Runes protocol. Additionally, regulatory scrutiny and market acceptance will play crucial roles in determining the project's long-term viability. Interpretation BAMK's initiative to create the Nakamoto Dollar on Bitcoin represents a bold step towards expanding Bitcoin's functionality and utility. By leveraging the Runes protocol, BAMK aims to bring a new level of financial innovation to the Bitcoin network, potentially transforming it into a hub for decentralized finance. As the project progresses, it will be closely watched by the crypto community, eager to see how this ambitious endeavor unfolds. For more information, visit BAMK's official website and follow their updates on X. As far as cyrpto projects go, BAMK is about as audacious as they come. If you have been in this space for any amount of time, you will recall in the early days of Bitcoin, the general idea and meme used was that with Bitcoin, you would be your own bank. Fast forward to today and while Bitcoin has given us some amazing properties, we never really did become our own bank. If BAMK protocol does what it aims to do - you will undoubtedly all become bamksters. BAMK•OF•NAKAMOTO•DOLLAR In a groundbreaking move, new crypto startup BAMK is set to revolutionize the Bitcoin blockchain with the introduction of the Nakamoto Dollar (NUSD) , a protocol-agnostic synthetic USD stablecoin . This initiative first launched via the Bitcoin Runes protocol, in what we can assume was a very clever marketing strategy, potentially ushering in a new era of decentralized finance (DeFi) on the Bitcoin network. Here's an in-depth look at BAMK's ambitious project and its potential impact on the market. BAMK Nakamoto Dollar (NUSD) synthetic USD stablecoin The Rise of the Runes Protocol The Runes protocol enhances Bitcoin's capability by enabling the creation of digital tokens, significantly improving transaction speed and cost-effectiveness. This innovation is akin to what Ethereum achieved with tokenization, leading to an influx of new tokens and capital. With Runes, Bitcoin now has the infrastructure to support similar growth, paving the way for projects like BAMK to deploy via Bitcoin (Note: $BAMK was launched via Bitcoin Runes Protocol, and $NUSD, or similar, while not yet released for minting, will likely be protocol agnostic, think BRC20 potentially). BAMK and the Nakamoto Dollar BAMK, short for Bamk of Nakamoto Dollar , aims to create a 1:1 USD synthetic stablecoin on the Bitcoin network, using the ticker $NUSD (Nakamoto USD). Their project, BAMK Protocol or BAMK for short (initially, the NAKADO Protocol), seeks to establish the first Bitcoin Layer 1 synthetic dollar as was first inspired by ideas from crypto visionary Arthur Hayes . Bamk of Nakamoto Dollar Arthur Hayes Key Features and Phases of the BAMK Project Phase 1: Bootstrapping with Ethena:

BAMK has developed a proprietary growth protocol to create a synthetic dollar, starting with a native bond token to incentivize total value locked (TVL) on Bitcoin Layer 1.
A public mint of the B.O.N.D. token (now $BAMK on exchanges) has been initiated to attract initial liquidity. Phase 2: Hedging Mechanism:

The NUSD stablecoin will be 100% hedged by holding a long spot position in BTC and a short perpetuals position, ensuring stability despite market volatility. Future Integration:

NUSD aims to be protocol-agnostic, and compatible with various token standards and protocols, allowing for broad adoption and integration across platforms. The team behind the project tell us that it is likely NUSD will launch on BRC20 first with a 5-byte ticker. Watch this space! Phase 1: Bootstrapping with Ethena : BAMK has developed a proprietary growth protocol to create a synthetic dollar, starting with a native bond token to incentivize total value locked (TVL) on Bitcoin Layer 1.
A public mint of the B.O.N.D. token (now $BAMK on exchanges) has been initiated to attract initial liquidity. Phase 1: Bootstrapping with Ethena BAMK has developed a proprietary growth protocol to create a synthetic dollar, starting with a native bond token to incentivize total value locked (TVL) on Bitcoin Layer 1. A public mint of the B.O.N.D. token (now $BAMK on exchanges) has been initiated to attract initial liquidity. BAMK has developed a proprietary growth protocol to create a synthetic dollar, starting with a native bond token to incentivize total value locked (TVL) on Bitcoin Layer 1. A public mint of the B.O.N.D. token (now $BAMK on exchanges) has been initiated to attract initial liquidity. Phase 2: Hedging Mechanism : The NUSD stablecoin will be 100% hedged by holding a long spot position in BTC and a short perpetuals position, ensuring stability despite market volatility. Phase 2: Hedging Mechanism The NUSD stablecoin will be 100% hedged by holding a long spot position in BTC and a short perpetuals position, ensuring stability despite market volatility. The NUSD stablecoin will be 100% hedged by holding a long spot position in BTC and a short perpetuals position, ensuring stability despite market volatility. Future Integration : NUSD aims to be protocol-agnostic, and compatible with various token standards and protocols, allowing for broad adoption and integration across platforms. The team behind the project tell us that it is likely NUSD will launch on BRC20 first with a 5-byte ticker. Watch this space! Future Integration NUSD aims to be protocol-agnostic, and compatible with various token standards and protocols, allowing for broad adoption and integration across platforms. The team behind the project tell us that it is likely NUSD will launch on BRC20 first with a 5-byte ticker. Watch this space! NUSD aims to be protocol-agnostic, and compatible with various token standards and protocols, allowing for broad adoption and integration across platforms. The team behind the project tell us that it is likely NUSD will launch on BRC20 first with a 5-byte ticker. Watch this space! Strategic Decisions and Market Impact From their Twitter/X and also voa conversations we have had with the BAMK team, we can see that BAMK was approached by venture capitalists who were ready to invest at a $40 million valuation. However, the team decided to forgo VC funding to maintain independence and foster community involvement. Instead, they minted 21 billion $BAMK tokens to incentivize TVL and engage the degen trading community. In other words, think of this as a grassroots model. Potential Market Impact Uncapped Potential for Capital Inflow:

The introduction of NUSD on the Bitcoin network holds uncapped potential for capital inflow. Unlike Ethereum-based stablecoins like USDT and USDC, which are capped through banking regulations and restrictions, NUSD aims to operate without these constraints. This could lead to a significant increase in on-chain liquidity and attract substantial capital to the Bitcoin network【24†source】. Enhanced Bitcoin Utility:

Introducing a stablecoin directly on Bitcoin can enhance its utility, making it a more versatile asset for transactions, lending, and other financial services.
The synthetic nature of NUSD ensures that it remains stable despite Bitcoin's volatility, providing a reliable medium of exchange and store of value. Community and Decentralization:

BAMK's decision to prioritize community involvement over VC funding aligns with the decentralized ethos of Bitcoin.
By incentivizing participation through the $BAMK token, BAMK aims to build a robust and engaged community that supports the project's growth and sustainability. Uncapped Potential for Capital Inflow : The introduction of NUSD on the Bitcoin network holds uncapped potential for capital inflow. Unlike Ethereum-based stablecoins like USDT and USDC, which are capped through banking regulations and restrictions, NUSD aims to operate without these constraints. This could lead to a significant increase in on-chain liquidity and attract substantial capital to the Bitcoin network【24†source】. Uncapped Potential for Capital Inflow The introduction of NUSD on the Bitcoin network holds uncapped potential for capital inflow. Unlike Ethereum-based stablecoins like USDT and USDC, which are capped through banking regulations and restrictions, NUSD aims to operate without these constraints. This could lead to a significant increase in on-chain liquidity and attract substantial capital to the Bitcoin network【24†source】. The introduction of NUSD on the Bitcoin network holds uncapped potential for capital inflow. Unlike Ethereum-based stablecoins like USDT and USDC, which are capped through banking regulations and restrictions, NUSD aims to operate without these constraints. This could lead to a significant increase in on-chain liquidity and attract substantial capital to the Bitcoin network【24†source】. Enhanced Bitcoin Utility : Introducing a stablecoin directly on Bitcoin can enhance its utility, making it a more versatile asset for transactions, lending, and other financial services.
The synthetic nature of NUSD ensures that it remains stable despite Bitcoin's volatility, providing a reliable medium of exchange and store of value. Enhanced Bitcoin Utility Introducing a stablecoin directly on Bitcoin can enhance its utility, making it a more versatile asset for transactions, lending, and other financial services. The synthetic nature of NUSD ensures that it remains stable despite Bitcoin's volatility, providing a reliable medium of exchange and store of value. Introducing a stablecoin directly on Bitcoin can enhance its utility, making it a more versatile asset for transactions, lending, and other financial services. The synthetic nature of NUSD ensures that it remains stable despite Bitcoin's volatility, providing a reliable medium of exchange and store of value. Community and Decentralization : BAMK's decision to prioritize community involvement over VC funding aligns with the decentralized ethos of Bitcoin.
By incentivizing participation through the $BAMK token, BAMK aims to build a robust and engaged community that supports the project's growth and sustainability. Community and Decentralization BAMK's decision to prioritize community involvement over VC funding aligns with the decentralized ethos of Bitcoin. By incentivizing participation through the $BAMK token, BAMK aims to build a robust and engaged community that supports the project's growth and sustainability. BAMK's decision to prioritize community involvement over VC funding aligns with the decentralized ethos of Bitcoin. By incentivizing participation through the $BAMK token, BAMK aims to build a robust and engaged community that supports the project's growth and sustainability. Challenges While the potential benefits are significant, there are challenges to consider. The success of NUSD hinges on the effectiveness of the hedging mechanism and the broader adoption of the Runes protocol. Additionally, regulatory scrutiny and market acceptance will play crucial roles in determining the project's long-term viability. Interpretation BAMK's initiative to create the Nakamoto Dollar on Bitcoin represents a bold step towards expanding Bitcoin's functionality and utility. By leveraging the Runes protocol, BAMK aims to bring a new level of financial innovation to the Bitcoin network, potentially transforming it into a hub for decentralized finance. As the project progresses, it will be closely watched by the crypto community, eager to see how this ambitious endeavor unfolds. For more information, visit BAMK's official website and follow their updates on X . official website X As far as cyrpto projects go, BAMK is about as audacious as they come. If you have been in this space for any amount of time, you will recall in the early days of Bitcoin, the general idea and meme used was that with Bitcoin, you would be your own bank. Fast forward to today and while Bitcoin has given us some amazing properties, we never really did become our own bank. If BAMK protocol does what it aims to do - you will undoubtedly all become bamksters.

BAMK: Pioneering the Nakamoto Dollar on Bitcoin

Optimizing Data Center Efficiency: A Deep Dive into Freecooling Techniques

Neural Network for Valuing Bitcoin: Numerical Results, Implementation and Discussion

The recent integration of Injective’s blockchain data into Synternet’s Data Layer Portal signifies a notable advancement in the accessibility and utility of real-time blockchain information for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. This development, facilitated by Stakin's enterprise-grade infrastructure, presents a crucial enhancement for market makers and DeFi developers, who can now access .mempool and .proposed-block data streams instantly. Injective, recognized for its Layer 1 blockchain that caters specifically to DeFi, has made its data streams available in a move that could potentially alter how developers and financial strategists interact with blockchain technology. The immediate availability of such data is crucial in a sector where timing and information accuracy are paramount. Typically, DeFi applications have relied on APIs or RPCs to fetch blockchain data, which can introduce latency that is detrimental in fast-paced trading environments. The introduction of low-latency data streams such as those from Injective allows for a more granular and timely analysis of blockchain activities. This capability is especially critical for applications such as trading bots and decentralized exchanges (DEXes) that require real-time data to function effectively. For example, access to .mempool data allows market makers to see transaction details before they are confirmed, giving them a strategic advantage in predicting and reacting to market movements. From a competitive standpoint, the availability of real-time data on a decentralized layer such as Synternet’s Data Layer could reshape market dynamics by leveling the playing field between smaller players and large institutions. Larger entities often have better access to fast and comprehensive data, a gap that this integration aims to bridge by democratizing access to critical information. Moreover, the strategic collaboration within the Cosmos ecosystem between Injective, Synternet, and Stakin illustrates a growing trend towards ecosystem-centric developments in blockchain technology. Such collaborations enhance the interoperability and collective functionality of blockchain platforms, which is essential for the long-term viability and expansion of DeFi. However, this development is not without its challenges. The integration of such advanced technological solutions requires robust security measures and continuous monitoring to prevent data manipulation or leaks. Additionally, the reliance on real-time data can make DeFi applications vulnerable to downtime or inaccuracies in data transmission, potentially leading to significant financial implications. The integration of Injective’s blockchain data into Synternet’s Data Layer Portal is a significant step forward for DeFi development, offering enhanced data accessibility and strategic advantages for market makers and developers. However, it also brings to the forefront the need for enhanced security protocols, reliable data management practices, and a clearer regulatory framework to fully realize the benefits of real-time blockchain data in DeFi. As this technology continues to evolve, so too will its impact on the broader financial landscape, paving the way for more sophisticated and equitable financial systems. Don’t forget to like and share the story! Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR. The recent integration of Injective’s blockchain data into Synternet’s Data Layer Portal signifies a notable advancement in the accessibility and utility of real-time blockchain information for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. This development, facilitated by Stakin's enterprise-grade infrastructure, presents a crucial enhancement for market makers and DeFi developers, who can now access .mempool and .proposed-block data streams instantly. Injective, recognized for its Layer 1 blockchain that caters specifically to DeFi, has made its data streams available in a move that could potentially alter how developers and financial strategists interact with blockchain technology. The immediate availability of such data is crucial in a sector where timing and information accuracy are paramount. Typically, DeFi applications have relied on APIs or RPCs to fetch blockchain data, which can introduce latency that is detrimental in fast-paced trading environments. The introduction of low-latency data streams such as those from Injective allows for a more granular and timely analysis of blockchain activities. This capability is especially critical for applications such as trading bots and decentralized exchanges (DEXes) that require real-time data to function effectively. For example, access to .mempool data allows market makers to see transaction details before they are confirmed, giving them a strategic advantage in predicting and reacting to market movements. From a competitive standpoint, the availability of real-time data on a decentralized layer such as Synternet’s Data Layer could reshape market dynamics by leveling the playing field between smaller players and large institutions. Larger entities often have better access to fast and comprehensive data, a gap that this integration aims to bridge by democratizing access to critical information. Moreover, the strategic collaboration within the Cosmos ecosystem between Injective, Synternet, and Stakin illustrates a growing trend towards ecosystem-centric developments in blockchain technology. Such collaborations enhance the interoperability and collective functionality of blockchain platforms, which is essential for the long-term viability and expansion of DeFi. However, this development is not without its challenges. The integration of such advanced technological solutions requires robust security measures and continuous monitoring to prevent data manipulation or leaks. Additionally, the reliance on real-time data can make DeFi applications vulnerable to downtime or inaccuracies in data transmission, potentially leading to significant financial implications. The integration of Injective’s blockchain data into Synternet’s Data Layer Portal is a significant step forward for DeFi development, offering enhanced data accessibility and strategic advantages for market makers and developers. However, it also brings to the forefront the need for enhanced security protocols, reliable data management practices, and a clearer regulatory framework to fully realize the benefits of real-time blockchain data in DeFi. As this technology continues to evolve, so too will its impact on the broader financial landscape, paving the way for more sophisticated and equitable financial systems. Don’t forget to like and share the story! Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR. Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program . HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR. Vested Interest Disclosure: business blogging program business blogging program

How Injective’s Blockchain Data Accessibility is Transforming DeFi Development

While artificial intelligence (AI) shows potential to increase profitability across most industries, its adoption is also resulting in a widening global skills gap, making upskilling workforces in AI and machine learning (ML) imperative for progress. A report by KPMG shows that among leading businesses prioritizing technology investment for profitability, a resounding 68% identify AI and machine learning as indispensable to their short-term plans. This means the need for AI skilling is such that it requires employees, employers, business organizations, and educational institutions all to pitch in. In short, building the AI-skilled workforce has to be a truly global effort. Enhancing skills in AI and Machine Learning is no longer optional but a necessity
Ruban Phukan, co-founder and CEO of GoodGist “Enhancing skills in AI and Machine Learning is no longer optional but a necessity,” Ruban Phukan, co-founder and CEO of GoodGist, an autonomous learning startup, told The Tech Panda. And the reason for this necessity, he says, is that AI saves time. “In an era where time is the scarcest resource and the boundaries between work and personal life increasingly blur, leveraging AI to optimize time is one of the most significant steps individuals can take to boost both their professional and personal productivity. This reality underscores the importance of upskilling,” Phukan explains. According to a Slack survey, workplace adoption of AI tools has sped up 24% over the previous quarter, with one out of four desk workers saying they have used AI tools at their work as of January 2024, as compared to one in five as of September 2023. “Upskilling, however, transcends mere familiarity with AI usage. It’s a critical response to the profound shifts in the business landscape and job market triggered by the rapid evolution of technology,” he adds. According to the World Economic Forum, nearly 1 billion people worldwide will need to upskill by 2030, with Korn Ferry warning that failing to do so could result in an $8.5 trillion loss in potential revenue. This is a stark backdrop to McKinsey’s projection that 87% of companies will experience a skills gap in the coming years, making upskilling not just imperative but urgent as time is of the essence here. Job postings for AI are high, but where is the talent? As AI gets integrated into all kinds of sectors, companies are starting to compete for AI talent. AI job postings surged 42% since ChatGPT’s debut, as Big Tech companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, and others like global logistics firm UPS, are beginning to shift resources to channel money into hiring machine learning engineers and data scientists. Companies are actively in search of skilled professionals to fill roles from technical leadership to applied research. These include eBay, Krutrim, Accenture, Dentsu, Gramener and others. According to an AIM report on generative AI salaries in India, large companies are offering INR 1 crore or more annually for senior roles, while startups and mid-size companies are ready to give out approx. INR 30-40 lakh. However, are these companies finding the talent they seek? As per new research, about three in four employers are struggling to hire for the AI skills they seek even though they are willing to boost salaries 43% in marketing and 35-42% across HR, finance, and legal roles. In fact, with the acceleration in AI adoption, companies are beginning to rely on education partnerships and gig work to reach the talent required. This is why skilling programs in AI are afoot. In March, IIM Lucknow and Emeritus launched the “Digital Transformation and AI for Business Leaders” Program to shape the next generation of AI leaders, an 11-month program designed to help leaders gain comprehensive insights into the intricacies of digital transformation and AI. Similarly, Physics Wallah (PW), an Indian EdTech platform, launched PW Institute of Innovation (PW IOI), a four-year residential program in Computer Science and AI to address the critical challenges faced by the Indian software industry, strategically located in Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India. The significant increase in the demand-supply gap for skilled AI and data science professionals further highlights the need for a comprehensive transformation in the learning approach
Vishwa Mohan, CIO at PW & President of PW IOI Vishwa Mohan, CIO at PW & President of PW IOI, said, “It is indeed concerning that despite the exponential growth witnessed in the Indian software industry, the employability rate of Indian engineering graduates has remained relatively low, with only marginal improvement over the years. Additionally, the significant increase in the demand-supply gap for skilled AI and data science professionals further highlights the need for a comprehensive transformation in the learning approach.” Employees want AI skilling from employers At the same time, employee expectations are starting to include skilling and training in AI. According to a study by EPAM India, 93% of modern engineers seek upskilling opportunities in AI, Cloud, and other new-age technologies, while 92% look for opportunities to enhance their problem-solving skills to identify and implement the best solutions. Also, 91% of respondents stated that future developmental and on-job training opportunities are their top expectations from their workplaces. Regarding their perspective for the future, 68% and 46% of modern engineers, respectively, believe that Data Analytics and AI will be the demand in the future, enabling enhancing consumer experience and collaboration. Some companies have started working on these expectations in a bid to retain talent. For example, Findability Sciences, an enterprise AI solution has trained over 100 of its data analysts and scientists across its Boston, India, and Japan operations with intensive training in problem formulation and prompt design and engineering skills. Empowering our team with these new skills is a strategic move that will pay dividends for our clients and the company. The future of AI is generative, and we are now more than ready to take it head-on
Mandar Kulkarni, AVP of Pre-sales Mandar Kulkarni, AVP of Pre-sales, said, “Empowering our team with these new skills is a strategic move that will pay dividends for our clients and the company. The future of AI is generative, and we are now more than ready to take it head-on.”?? The aim is to arm its team with the latest skills to cater to the evolving requirements of its existing and incoming customers in the generative AI arena. “This training is more than an investment in our team; it’s an investment in our clients,” says Anurag Srivastava, the Global Delivery Head. In a tech-driven business landscape, AI and machine learning expertise empower professionals to navigate disruption and contribute significantly to short-term viability and long-term success, hence its necessity as a skill is becoming inevitable. Every ecosystem has to pool in resources to meet the AI demand that will only go up in the future. Navanwita Sachdev, Editor, The Tech Panda While artificial intelligence (AI) shows potential to increase profitability across most industries, its adoption is also resulting in a widening global skills gap, making upskilling workforces in AI and machine learning (ML) imperative for progress. artificial intelligence A report by KPMG shows that among leading businesses prioritizing technology investment for profitability, a resounding 68% identify AI and machine learning as indispensable to their short-term plans. report by KPMG This means the need for AI skilling is such that it requires employees, employers, business organizations, and educational institutions all to pitch in. In short, building the AI-skilled workforce has to be a truly global effort. Enhancing skills in AI and Machine Learning is no longer optional but a necessity Ruban Phukan, co-founder and CEO of GoodGist Enhancing skills in AI and Machine Learning is no longer optional but a necessity Enhancing skills in AI and Machine Learning is no longer optional but a necessity Enhancing skills in AI and Machine Learning is no longer optional but a necessity Ruban Phukan, co-founder and CEO of GoodGist “Enhancing skills in AI and Machine Learning is no longer optional but a necessity,” Ruban Phukan , co-founder and CEO of GoodGist , an autonomous learning startup, told The Tech Panda . And the reason for this necessity, he says, is that AI saves time. Ruban Phukan GoodGist The Tech Panda “In an era where time is the scarcest resource and the boundaries between work and personal life increasingly blur, leveraging AI to optimize time is one of the most significant steps individuals can take to boost both their professional and personal productivity. This reality underscores the importance of upskilling,” Phukan explains. According to a Slack survey , workplace adoption of AI tools has sped up 24% over the previous quarter, with one out of four desk workers saying they have used AI tools at their work as of January 2024, as compared to one in five as of September 2023. a Slack survey “Upskilling, however, transcends mere familiarity with AI usage. It’s a critical response to the profound shifts in the business landscape and job market triggered by the rapid evolution of technology,” he adds. According to the World Economic Forum , nearly 1 billion people worldwide will need to upskill by 2030, with Korn Ferry warning that failing to do so could result in an $8.5 trillion loss in potential revenue. This is a stark backdrop to McKinsey’s projection that 87% of companies will experience a skills gap in the coming years, making upskilling not just imperative but urgent as time is of the essence here. According to the World Economic Forum Korn Ferry warning McKinsey’s projection Job postings for AI are high, but where is the talent? Job postings for AI are high, but where is the talent? As AI gets integrated into all kinds of sectors, companies are starting to compete for AI talent. AI job postings surged 42% since ChatGPT’s debut, as Big Tech companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, and others like global logistics firm UPS, are beginning to shift resources to channel money into hiring machine learning engineers and data scientists. AI job postings Companies are actively in search of skilled professionals to fill roles from technical leadership to applied research. These include eBay, Krutrim, Accenture, Dentsu, Gramener and others. According to an AIM report on generative AI salaries in India, large companies are offering INR 1 crore or more annually for senior roles, while startups and mid-size companies are ready to give out approx. INR 30-40 lakh. These include an AIM report However, are these companies finding the talent they seek? As per new research , about three in four employers are struggling to hire for the AI skills they seek even though they are willing to boost salaries 43% in marketing and 35-42% across HR, finance, and legal roles. In fact, with the acceleration in AI adoption, companies are beginning to rely on education partnerships and gig work to reach the talent required. research This is why skilling programs in AI are afoot. In March, IIM Lucknow and Emeritus launched the “Digital Transformation and AI for Business Leaders” Program to shape the next generation of AI leaders, an 11-month program designed to help leaders gain comprehensive insights into the intricacies of digital transformation and AI. IIM Lucknow Emeritus Similarly, Physics Wallah (PW), an Indian EdTech platform, launched PW Institute of Innovation (PW IOI), a four-year residential program in Computer Science and AI to address the critical challenges faced by the Indian software industry, strategically located in Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India. Physics Wallah The significant increase in the demand-supply gap for skilled AI and data science professionals further highlights the need for a comprehensive transformation in the learning approach Vishwa Mohan, CIO at PW & President of PW IOI The significant increase in the demand-supply gap for skilled AI and data science professionals further highlights the need for a comprehensive transformation in the learning approach The significant increase in the demand-supply gap for skilled AI and data science professionals further highlights the need for a comprehensive transformation in the learning approach The significant increase in the demand-supply gap for skilled AI and data science professionals further highlights the need for a comprehensive transformation in the learning approach Vishwa Mohan, CIO at PW & President of PW IOI Vishwa Mohan, CIO at PW & President of PW IOI, said, “It is indeed concerning that despite the exponential growth witnessed in the Indian software industry, the employability rate of Indian engineering graduates has remained relatively low, with only marginal improvement over the years. Additionally, the significant increase in the demand-supply gap for skilled AI and data science professionals further highlights the need for a comprehensive transformation in the learning approach.” Employees want AI skilling from employers Employees want AI skilling from employers At the same time, employee expectations are starting to include skilling and training in AI. According to a study by EPAM India, 93% of modern engineers seek upskilling opportunities in AI, Cloud, and other new-age technologies, while 92% look for opportunities to enhance their problem-solving skills to identify and implement the best solutions. Also, 91% of respondents stated that future developmental and on-job training opportunities are their top expectations from their workplaces. study Regarding their perspective for the future, 68% and 46% of modern engineers, respectively, believe that Data Analytics and AI will be the demand in the future, enabling enhancing consumer experience and collaboration. Some companies have started working on these expectations in a bid to retain talent. For example, Findability Sciences , an enterprise AI solution has trained over 100 of its data analysts and scientists across its Boston, India, and Japan operations with intensive training in problem formulation and prompt design and engineering skills. Findability Sciences Empowering our team with these new skills is a strategic move that will pay dividends for our clients and the company. The future of AI is generative, and we are now more than ready to take it head-on Mandar Kulkarni, AVP of Pre-sales Empowering our team with these new skills is a strategic move that will pay dividends for our clients and the company. The future of AI is generative, and we are now more than ready to take it head-on Empowering our team with these new skills is a strategic move that will pay dividends for our clients and the company. The future of AI is generative, and we are now more than ready to take it head-on Empowering our team with these new skills is a strategic move that will pay dividends for our clients and the company. The future of AI is generative, and we are now more than ready to take it head-on Mandar Kulkarni, AVP of Pre-sales Mandar Kulkarni, AVP of Pre-sales, said, “Empowering our team with these new skills is a strategic move that will pay dividends for our clients and the company. The future of AI is generative, and we are now more than ready to take it head-on.”?? The aim is to arm its team with the latest skills to cater to the evolving requirements of its existing and incoming customers in the generative AI arena. “This training is more than an investment in our team; it’s an investment in our clients,” says Anurag Srivastava, the Global Delivery Head. In a tech-driven business landscape, AI and machine learning expertise empower professionals to navigate disruption and contribute significantly to short-term viability and long-term success, hence its necessity as a skill is becoming inevitable. Every ecosystem has to pool in resources to meet the AI demand that will only go up in the future. Navanwita Sachdev, Editor, The Tech Panda Navanwita Sachdev, Editor, The Tech Panda Navanwita Sachdev, Navanwita Sachdev, Navanwita Sachdev, Editor, The Tech Panda

The Talent Quest: Companies' High Stakes in the AI Workforce Race

Tiktok Inc., and ByteDance LTD., v. Merrick B. Garland Update Court Filing, retrieved on May 7, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series. You can jump to any part in this filing here. This part is 4 of 11. C. A Divestiture that Severs TikTok’s U.S. Operations From the Rest of the Globally Integrated TikTok Business Is Not Commercially, Technologically, or Legally Feasible. 26. The Act purports to allow Petitioners to avoid a ban by executing a “qualified divestiture.” Sec. 2(c). But that alternative is illusory because, as Petitioners have repeatedly explained to CFIUS, the divestiture of the TikTok U.S. business and its severance from the globally integrated platform of which it is an integral part is not commercially, technologically, or legally feasible. 27. First, a standalone U.S. TikTok platform would not be commercially viable. TikTok and its competitors are globally integrated platforms where content created in one country is available to users in other countries. Indeed, a substantial part of TikTok’s appeal is the richness of the international content available on the platform — from global sporting events like the Olympics to international K-pop stars from South Korea, as well as videos created by U.S. creators and enjoyed by audiences worldwide. A divestment of the U.S. TikTok platform, without any operational relationship with the remainder of the global platform, would preclude the interoperability necessary to make international content seamlessly available in the U.S. market and vice versa. As a result, the U.S. TikTok platform would become an “island” where Americans would have an experience detached from the rest of the global platform and its over 1 billion users. Such a limited pool of content, in turn, would dramatically undermine the value and viability of the U.S. TikTok business.[4] 28. Second, precipitously moving all TikTok source code development from ByteDance to a new TikTok owner would be impossible as a technological matter. The platform consists of millions of lines of software code that have been painstakingly developed by thousands of engineers over multiple years. Although much of this code is basic infrastructure for running the global TikTok platform and has nothing at all to do with TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, the statute requires that all of this code be wrested from Petitioners, so that there is no “operational relationship” between ByteDance and the new U.S. platform. Specifically, to comply with the law’s divestiture requirement, that code base would have to be moved to a large, alternative team of engineers — a team that does not exist and would have no understanding of the complex code necessary to run the platform. It would take years for an entirely new set of engineers to gain sufficient familiarity with the source code to perform the ongoing, necessary maintenance and development activities for the platform. Moreover, to keep the platform functioning, these engineers would need access to ByteDance software tools, which the Act prohibits. Such a fundamental rearchitecting is not remotely feasible on anything approaching the 270-day timeframe contemplated by the Act. 29. Third, the Chinese government has made clear that it would not permit a divestment of the recommendation engine that is a key to the success of TikTok in the United States. Like the United States,[5] China regulates the export of certain technologies originating there. China’s export control rules cover “information processing technologies” such as “personal interactive data algorithms.”[6] China’s official news agency has reported that under these rules, any sale of recommendation algorithms developed by engineers employed by ByteDance subsidiaries in China, including for TikTok, would require a government license.[7] China also enacted an additional export control law that “gives the Chinese government new policy tools and justifications to deny and impose terms on foreign commercial transactions.”[8] China adopted these enhanced export control restrictions between August and October 2020, shortly after President Trump’s August 6, 2020 and August 14, 2020 executive orders targeting TikTok. By doing so, the Chinese government clearly signaled that it would assert its export control powers with respect to any attempt to sever TikTok’s operations from ByteDance, and that any severance would leave TikTok without access to the recommendation engine that has created a unique style and community that cannot be replicated on any other platform today. Continue Reading Here. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings.
This court case retrieved on May 7, 2024, from sf16-va.tiktokcdn.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. [4] The contemplated qualified divestiture would also undercut the important role currently played by American voices in the global conversation ongoing on TikTok. [5] For example, the U.S. Department of Commerce has issued restrictions on the export to China of advanced chips that can be used to train artificial intelligence models. E.g., Implementation of Additional Export Controls: Certain Advanced Computing Items; Supercomputer and Semiconductor End Use; Updates and Corrections, 88 Fed. Reg. 73458 (Oct. 25, 2023) (to be codified at 15 C.F.R. § 732.2 et seq.). [6] See Karen M. Sutter, Cong. Rsch. Serv., IN11524, China Issues New Export Control Law and Related Policies 2 (2020). [7] Paul Mozur, Raymond Zhong & David McCabe, TikTok Deal Is Complicated by New Rules From China Over Tech Exports, N.Y. Times (Aug. 29, 2020), https://perma.cc/L6RB-CTT9. [8] Sutter, supra n.6. Lead image by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash Tiktok Inc., and ByteDance LTD., v. Merrick B. Garland Update Court Filing, retrieved on May 7, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series. You can jump to any part in this filing here. This part is 4 of 11. Tiktok Inc., and ByteDance LTD., v. Merrick B. Garland Update Court Filing, retrieved on May 7, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series . You can jump to any part in this filing here . This part is 4 of 11. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here C. A Divestiture that Severs TikTok’s U.S. Operations From the Rest of the Globally Integrated TikTok Business Is Not Commercially, Technologically, or Legally Feasible. 26. The Act purports to allow Petitioners to avoid a ban by executing a “qualified divestiture.” Sec. 2(c). But that alternative is illusory because, as Petitioners have repeatedly explained to CFIUS, the divestiture of the TikTok U.S. business and its severance from the globally integrated platform of which it is an integral part is not commercially, technologically, or legally feasible. 27. First , a standalone U.S. TikTok platform would not be commercially viable. TikTok and its competitors are globally integrated platforms where content created in one country is available to users in other countries. Indeed, a substantial part of TikTok’s appeal is the richness of the international content available on the platform — from global sporting events like the Olympics to international K-pop stars from South Korea, as well as videos created by U.S. creators and enjoyed by audiences worldwide. A divestment of the U.S. TikTok platform, without any operational relationship with the remainder of the global platform, would preclude the interoperability necessary to make international content seamlessly available in the U.S. market and vice versa. As a result, the U.S. TikTok platform would become an “island” where Americans would have an experience detached from the rest of the global platform and its over 1 billion users. Such a limited pool of content, in turn, would dramatically undermine the value and viability of the U.S. TikTok business.[4] First 28. Second , precipitously moving all TikTok source code development from ByteDance to a new TikTok owner would be impossible as a technological matter. The platform consists of millions of lines of software code that have been painstakingly developed by thousands of engineers over multiple years. Although much of this code is basic infrastructure for running the global TikTok platform and has nothing at all to do with TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, the statute requires that all of this code be wrested from Petitioners, so that there is no “operational relationship” between ByteDance and the new U.S. platform. Specifically, to comply with the law’s divestiture requirement, that code base would have to be moved to a large, alternative team of engineers — a team that does not exist and would have no understanding of the complex code necessary to run the platform. It would take years for an entirely new set of engineers to gain sufficient familiarity with the source code to perform the ongoing, necessary maintenance and development activities for the platform. Moreover, to keep the platform functioning, these engineers would need access to ByteDance software tools, which the Act prohibits. Such a fundamental rearchitecting is not remotely feasible on anything approaching the 270-day timeframe contemplated by the Act. Second 29. Third , the Chinese government has made clear that it would not permit a divestment of the recommendation engine that is a key to the success of TikTok in the United States. Like the United States,[5] China regulates the export of certain technologies originating there. China’s export control rules cover “information processing technologies” such as “personal interactive data algorithms.”[6] China’s official news agency has reported that under these rules, any sale of recommendation algorithms developed by engineers employed by ByteDance subsidiaries in China, including for TikTok, would require a government license.[7] China also enacted an additional export control law that “gives the Chinese government new policy tools and justifications to deny and impose terms on foreign commercial transactions.”[8] China adopted these enhanced export control restrictions between August and October 2020, shortly after President Trump’s August 6, 2020 and August 14, 2020 executive orders targeting TikTok. By doing so, the Chinese government clearly signaled that it would assert its export control powers with respect to any attempt to sever TikTok’s operations from ByteDance, and that any severance would leave TikTok without access to the recommendation engine that has created a unique style and community that cannot be replicated on any other platform today. Third Continue Reading Here. Continue Reading Here . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on May 7, 2024, from sf16-va.tiktokcdn.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on May 7, 2024, from sf16-va.tiktokcdn.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. sf16-va.tiktokcdn.com [4] The contemplated qualified divestiture would also undercut the important role currently played by American voices in the global conversation ongoing on TikTok. [5] For example, the U.S. Department of Commerce has issued restrictions on the export to China of advanced chips that can be used to train artificial intelligence models. E.g., Implementation of Additional Export Controls: Certain Advanced Computing Items; Supercomputer and Semiconductor End Use; Updates and Corrections, 88 Fed. Reg. 73458 (Oct. 25, 2023) (to be codified at 15 C.F.R. § 732.2 et seq.). [6] See Karen M. Sutter, Cong. Rsch. Serv., IN11524, China Issues New Export Control Law and Related Policies 2 (2020). [7] Paul Mozur, Raymond Zhong & David McCabe, TikTok Deal Is Complicated by New Rules From China Over Tech Exports, N.Y. Times (Aug. 29, 2020), https://perma.cc/L6RB-CTT9. [8] Sutter, supra n.6. Lead image by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash Lead image by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

TikTok Explains Why It Can't Divest Its U.S. Operations 

What Does It Take to Get a Medical Device to Market?

This paper is under CC 4.0 license. available on arxiv : Authors (1) Ryen W. White, Microsoft Research, Redmond, WA, USA. Table of Links Abstract and Taking Search to task AI Copilots Challenges Opportunities The Undiscovered Country and References 3 CHALLENGES Despite the promise of copilots, there are significant challenges that should be acknowledged and we must find ways to overcome. Those include issues with the copilot output shown in response to searcher requests, the impacts that the copilots can have on searchers, and shifts in the degree of agency that humans have in the search process that result from the introduction of copilots. • : Searchers rely a lot on the answers from copilots,but those answers can be erroneous or non-sensical. So-called“hallucination” is a well-studied problem in foundation models [24]. Copilots can hallucinate for many reasons. One of the main reasons being gaps in the training data. RAG, discussed earlier, is a way to help address this by ensuring that the copilot has access to up-to-date, relevant information at inference time to help ground its responses. Injection of knowledge from other external sources, such as knowledge graphs and Wikipedia, can also help improve the accuracy of copilot responses. An issue related to copilots surfacing misinformation is toxicity (i.e., offensive or harmful content), which can also be present in the copilot output, and must be mitigated before answers are shown to searchers. Hallucinations • : Biases in the training data, e.g., social biases and stereotypes [31], affect the output of foundation models and hence the answers provided by copilots. Synthesis of content from different sources can amplify biases in this data. As with hallucinations, this is a well-studied problem [6]. Copilots are also subject to biases from learning from their own or other AI generated content (via feedback loops); biased historical sequences lead to biased downstream models. Copilots may also amplify existing cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias, by favoring responses that are aligned with searchers’ existing beliefs and values, and by providing responses that keep searchers engaged with the copilot, regardless of the ramifications for the searcher. Biases Learning may be affected/interrupted by the use of AI copilots since they remove the need for searchers to engage as fully with the search system and the information retrieved. Learning is already a core part of the search process [32, 37, 54]. Both exploratory search and search as learning involve considerable time and effort in finding and examining relevant content. While this could be viewed as a cost, this deep exposure to content also helps people learn. As mentioned earlier, copilot users can ask richer questions (allowing them to specify their tasks and goals more fully) but they then receive synthesized answers generated by the copilot, creating fewer, new, or simply different learning opportunities for humans that must be understood. • Human learning: Supporting search requires considering the degree of searcher involvement in the search process, which varies depending on the search task [2]. Copilots enable more strategic, • Human control: higher-order actions (higher up the “task tree” from Figure 1 than typical interactions with search systems). It is clear that searchers want control over the search process. They want to know what information is/not being included and why. This helps them understand and trust system output. As things stand, copilot users delegate full control of answer generation to the AI, but the rest is mixed, i.e., less control of search mechanics (queries, etc.) but more control of task specifications (via natural language and dialog). There is more than just a basic tension between automation and control. In reality, it is not a zero sum game. Designers of copilots need to ensure human control while increasing automation [44]. New frameworks for task completion are moving in this direction. For example, AutoGen [67], uses multiple specialized assistive AI copilots that engage with humans and with each other directly to help complete complex tasks, with humans staying informed and in control throughout. Overall, these are just a few of the challenges that affect the viability of copilots. There are other challenges, such as deeply ingrained search habits that may be a barrier to the adoption of new search functionality, despite the clear benefits to searchers.

Navigating Complex Search Tasks with AI Copilots: Challenges

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Investing in IoT Applications: All You Need to Know

**ZUG, Switzerland, April 24th, 2024/Chainwire/--**Researchers from the University of Zürich's Communication Systems Group, in collaboration with the Acurast Association building on Polkadot and other ecosystems, have unveiled groundbreaking results in their latest study, "Performance Analysis of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks and Centralized Clouds.” This work demonstrates the viability of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) as a robust alternative to traditional centralized cloud computing platforms. DePINs, leveraging blockchain technology and the Internet of Things (IoT), aim to enhance data sovereignty, reduce dependency on centralized models, and improve system resilience against potential failures. The research specifically highlights and evaluates Acurast, a new decentralized serverless cloud network that capitalizes on underutilized resources of smartphones to perform complex computing tasks with enhanced security and efficiency. Key Findings: Enhanced Efficiency: Acurast has shown potential to perform computationally intensive tasks more efficiently than traditional cloud services like Google Cloud Platform and Amazon AWS.
Power Efficiency: Acurast significantly reduce power consumption, compared to existing centralized server infrastructure, making it an environmentally friendly alternative to existing solutions.
Empirical Evidence: The study provides empirical evidence supporting the theoretical benefits of DePINs, demonstrating Acurast's ability to handle computationally intensive applications with reliability and cost-effectiveness. "The advent of decentralized technologies presents a unique opportunity to rethink how we manage and operate digital infrastructures," said Jan von der Assen, PhD student and Junior Researcher of the Communication Systems Group (CSG) at the University of Zurich (UZH) on the project. "Acurast not only challenges the status quo but may also present a scalable, secure, and sustainable model for future computing needs." This research marks a significant step toward understanding and harnessing the power of DePINs for computing. It opens up a real alternative to existing cloud providers for applications in all industries, especially where confidentiality is paramount. The full research paper is publicly available and has been accepted at the upcoming DePIN Workshop of the International Conference on Blockchain Technology (ICBC) 2024. About University of Zürich's Communication Systems Group The Communication Systems Group (CSG) at the University of Zurich focuses on research and development in networked systems and communication mechanisms. The group is dedicated to advancing the state of the art in communication systems, network security, and infrastructure development. About Acurast Association The Acurast Association is dedicated to breaking up the cloud monopoly with Acurast using mobile hardware, thereby democratizing and decentralizing the cloud. Allowing everyone to become a part of the cloud through their mobile devices. Providing developers with unrestricted, permissionless access to computing resources that are secure, cost-effective, and confidential. Contact Co-Founder Pascal Brun Acurast hi@acurast.com This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here. **ZUG, Switzerland, April 24th, 2024/Chainwire/--**Researchers from the University of Zürich's Communication Systems Group, in collaboration with the Acurast Association building on Polkadot and other ecosystems, have unveiled groundbreaking results in their latest study, "Performance Analysis of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks and Centralized Clouds.” This work demonstrates the viability of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) as a robust alternative to traditional centralized cloud computing platforms. DePINs, leveraging blockchain technology and the Internet of Things (IoT), aim to enhance data sovereignty, reduce dependency on centralized models, and improve system resilience against potential failures. The research specifically highlights and evaluates Acurast , a new decentralized serverless cloud network that capitalizes on underutilized resources of smartphones to perform complex computing tasks with enhanced security and efficiency. Acurast Acurast Key Findings: Enhanced Efficiency: Acurast has shown potential to perform computationally intensive tasks more efficiently than traditional cloud services like Google Cloud Platform and Amazon AWS. Power Efficiency: Acurast significantly reduce power consumption, compared to existing centralized server infrastructure, making it an environmentally friendly alternative to existing solutions. Empirical Evidence: The study provides empirical evidence supporting the theoretical benefits of DePINs, demonstrating Acurast's ability to handle computationally intensive applications with reliability and cost-effectiveness. Enhanced Efficiency: Acurast has shown potential to perform computationally intensive tasks more efficiently than traditional cloud services like Google Cloud Platform and Amazon AWS. Power Efficiency: Acurast significantly reduce power consumption, compared to existing centralized server infrastructure, making it an environmentally friendly alternative to existing solutions. Empirical Evidence: The study provides empirical evidence supporting the theoretical benefits of DePINs, demonstrating Acurast's ability to handle computationally intensive applications with reliability and cost-effectiveness. "The advent of decentralized technologies presents a unique opportunity to rethink how we manage and operate digital infrastructures," said Jan von der Assen, PhD student and Junior Researcher of the Communication Systems Group (CSG) at the University of Zurich (UZH) on the project. "The advent of decentralized technologies presents a unique opportunity to rethink how we manage and operate digital infrastructures," said Jan von der Assen, PhD student and Junior Researcher of the Communication Systems Group (CSG) at the University of Zurich (UZH) on the project. "Acurast not only challenges the status quo but may also present a scalable, secure, and sustainable model for future computing needs." "Acurast not only challenges the status quo but may also present a scalable, secure, and sustainable model for future computing needs." This research marks a significant step toward understanding and harnessing the power of DePINs for computing. It opens up a real alternative to existing cloud providers for applications in all industries, especially where confidentiality is paramount. The full research paper is publicly available and has been accepted at the upcoming DePIN Workshop of the International Conference on Blockchain Technology (ICBC) 2024. research paper research paper About University of Zürich's Communication Systems Group The Communication Systems Group (CSG) at the University of Zurich focuses on research and development in networked systems and communication mechanisms. The group is dedicated to advancing the state of the art in communication systems, network security, and infrastructure development. Communication Systems Group (CSG) Communication Systems Group (CSG) About Acurast Association The Acurast Association is dedicated to breaking up the cloud monopoly with Acurast using mobile hardware, thereby democratizing and decentralizing the cloud. Allowing everyone to become a part of the cloud through their mobile devices. Providing developers with unrestricted, permissionless access to computing resources that are secure, cost-effective, and confidential. Acurast Acurast Contact Co-Founder Pascal Brun Acurast hi@acurast.com This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here. This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here. here. here.

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