TechPlus+ | Technology & Development Redux
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Biased Artificial Intelligence
Read more: Biased Artificial IntelligenceA recent piece in MIT’s Technology Review nicely summarizes the issue of bias in AI/ML (AI) algorithms used in production to make decisions or predictions. The usual suspects make a cameo appearance, including data, design and implicit fairness assumptions. But the article falls a bit short as it does not distinguish between bias in general…
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The Global Centralization of (Dis)Intermediation
Read more: The Global Centralization of (Dis)IntermediationMerchants are perhaps the most famous image of an intermediary, the not-so-loved “middleman” that buys cheap, sells dear, and becomes rich doing little work. Even in the supposedly dark Middle Ages, merchants could openly operate creating Merchant Guilds that promoted regional trade while protecting members from potential abuses by powerful landlords and countervailing the staunch opposition…
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Best Films – 2018
Read more: Best Films – 2018While I managed to watch a film every 2.5 days on average, online sources were instrumental in making this a reality. The astounding public library system of the US county where I happen to live at the moment also played a significant role. In addition to facilitating access to academic books (usually on the expensive side)…
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Algorithms and Algocracy – II
Read more: Algorithms and Algocracy – IIIn the previous post, I provided a simple definition of an algorithm to explore its use in the digital world. While algorithms live from the inputs they feed, digital programs such as mobile apps and web platforms comprise a series of algorithms that, working in sync, deliver the desired output(s). Algorithms sit between a given…
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Algorithms and Algocracy – I
Read more: Algorithms and Algocracy – IWhile the concept of algorithms has been around for centuries, the same cannot be said about algocracy. The latter has recently gained notoriety thanks partly to the renaissance of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) and is frequently used to describe the increased use of algorithms in decision-making and governance processes. Indeed, the so-called Singularity…
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Smart contracts are not that smart
Read more: Smart contracts are not that smartSmart contracts are perhaps one of the most touted features of blockchain technology. While the idea itself dates from the end of the last century, blockchains provided the platform for actual implementation in the Internet era. Undoubtedly, Ethereum was the real disruptive innovator by enhancing the original but limited Bitcoin architecture with a plethora of…
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Waste no time waiting for e-Waste data
Read more: Waste no time waiting for e-Waste dataThe town where I currently reside is planning to change its e-Waste collection policy starting next year. As it is today, town people can go downtown once a month and drop their old computers, laptops, monitors and the rest. This will now be reduced to one day per year. Missing that date will entail people…
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ICOs: Endangered Species
Read more: ICOs: Endangered SpeciesAs expected, ICOs are finally cooling down. There are several reasons for this. First, ICO oversight by regulators in many countries has substantially increased. Regulators are poking not so much into new ICOs. Instead, they are doing deep dives into those that have already been completed and going after those who look fraudulent. Second, the…
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Uncertainty and Artificial Intelligence
Read more: Uncertainty and Artificial IntelligenceIn a world where perfect information supposedly rules across the board, uncertainty certainly challenges mainstream economists. While some of the tenets of such assumption have already been addressed – via the theory of information asymmetries and the development of the rational expectations school, for example, uncertainty still poses critical questions. For starters, uncertainty should not…
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Nein Uber in Berlin
Read more: Nein Uber in BerlinArriving in Berlin from Africa via Frankfurt proved to be a nightmare this time around. While the flight and connections were almost perfect, the same cannot be said about my luggage. I checked in one bag at the point of origin and asked the airline agent to confirm my bag will indeed show up in…
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Visa on Arrival
Read more: Visa on ArrivalMy passport seems to profess a deep love for visa stamps. Every time the possibility of travel to another country arises, I can hear its excitement of filling yet another passport page with a brand new and (maybe) shiny visa stamp. The more, the merrier – although blank pages to host additional stamps are becoming…
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Learning about Machine Learning
Read more: Learning about Machine LearningA few months ago, as I was finishing a paper on blockchain technology, I received an unexpected comment on Artificial Intelligence (AI from here on in) from one of the peer reviewers. While addressing the overall topic of innovation in the 21st Century, I mentioned in passing the revival of both AI and Machine Learning…
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The Scale of the Blockchain Scalability Constraints
Read more: The Scale of the Blockchain Scalability ConstraintsAccording to the latest estimates, global Internet penetration was close to 54 percent by the end of 2017. That is roughly 4 billion people. Figures for the number of unique cell phone users show that 5 billion people have access to the technology.1 BTW, this means that 1 billion people have a cell phone but…
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Have You Ever Seen a Blockchain?
Read more: Have You Ever Seen a Blockchain?A silent but intense competition seems to be taking place when it comes to defining blockchain technology. A Google search for the question “What is blockchain” yields over 120 million possible results. This number includes thousands of guides, videos, FAQs and other “educational” material on the subject. A shining example is a video depicting a…
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Bitcoin Inequality
Read more: Bitcoin InequalityIn the short and medium-term, technology and inequality seemed to be positively correlated. In the long term, however, things are not as clear-cut. With the right policies and democratic institutions in place, technology could become a catalyst to reduce income and wealth inequality. Historical evidence from the last century clearly supports this claim. Will digital…