U.S. government takes the Internet backwards!

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn Governments, TechLeave a comment

U.S. government takes the Internet backwards

On Monday 23rd April, net neutrality in the USA ceased to exist. The net neutrality rules introduced during the Obama era prevented Internet service providers from blocking, slowing down or prioritising Internet traffic.

According to a report from Business Insider, this could lead to a whole new era of ‘build your own Internet.’ One company, is already piloting a programme in Venice, California, and guess who it is? Yes, it’s WeTransfer!

WeTransfer, as many of you will be aware is the file transfer company that businesses use on a regular basis when files, especially those with high resolution images, are just to big to be sent via email. The company, which started in Venice, CA, is partnering with another Los Angeles outfit called Community Broadband Project “to create a “mesh network” — a decentralized series of wireless routers that allow customers to get online without going through an ISP.”

What is a mesh network?

The short answer is that a mesh network is usually local. It can be created when households in an area install routers, called ‘nodes’ that are then connected to local antennas. And, that creates a local network.

The FCC is taking the country back in time

WeTransfer’s President, Damian Bradfield believes that what the U.S. government is doing via the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking the country backwards in time to an era when a provider could tell you whether you could access Skype or BitTorrent. He said: “Fundamentally we believe the power shouldn’t be with the ISPs to make those sorts of decisions.”

Grassroots resistance

What WeTransfer is doing is a form of grassroots resistance to the end of net neutrality. Mesh networks can sidestep the influence of powerful ISPs like AT&T. Until now, the use of this type of network has been confined to rural areas with little or no broadband coverage, but it may now become more widespread.

WeTransfer alongside the Community Broadband Project is offering an independent connection to households in the Venice area. “We were looking for a way that not only we could benefit from an internet that is net neutral, but also some degree educate people around us that there is an alternative,” Bradfield said.

WeTransfer is funding the project and it is still in the beta testing stage in the Venice area. Eventually they hope to offer a service that is cheaper than those of the large ISPs.

Ultimately, WeTransfer wants the FCC to reinstate net neutrality rules. States such as California, Oregon, and Washington are in the process of passing their own state-level net neutrality laws. However, he is not hopeful about a return to net neutrality, because the FCC commissioner Ajit Pai is against the Obama-era rules. But, as several states and companies are suing the FCC over this, perhaps there is some hope it might change.

 

 

 

Is this the third industrial revolution?

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn AI, Blockchain, FintechLeave a comment

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We are standing at a moment in history where we are about to witness a third industrial revolution brought about by the fast increasing adoption of digital technology by industry after industry.

We have already seen the Internet deliver a second industrial revolution in the postal and telecoms industries, the publishing world and the music industry to name just a few that are extremely obvious.

We also seen new disruptive business models from companies like Uber and Airbnb. This has been called “innovation through creative disruption” by economist Joseph Schumpeter.

I agree with Matthias Stettler of greenmatch AG, who says in a recent Medium article that although there is a tendency for some to focus on the risks apparently associated with the speed at which the digital world is taking over our lives, there is a lot more that needs to be said about the opportunities it offers.

There is the Internet of Things as well as the Internet of Assets, which Stettler suggests combine the real and virtual worlds. And in this realm, it is the Fintechs that are seeing the opportunity to disrupt the conventional financial services, a sector that hasn’t had a shake-up since the first industrial revolution in the 19th century. In this respect, it seems rational to say that it was due for a change.

One thing that fascinates me about Stettler’s view is his argument that what we are seeing now is another industrial revolution. We know that the first one changed society dramatically with the advent of the steam train, followed by the invention of the telephone and so on.

He argues that we most definitely can call it a third industrial revolution, and says: “Considering that an industrial revolution occurs whenever a new primary energy source starts being used (keyword renewable energies), and that new communication technologies (the internet) emerge and changes in mobility (autonomous driving) are involved: then the answer is yes!”

He also points out that robotics and AI are making rapid progress, plus the new technology is decentralised and has virtually no marginal costs. It will also impact on society in every way. Already we are seeing a move towards one that is less divided by the notions of left wing and right wing: these are being replaced by “liberal-global and national-conservative,” as he puts it.

What personally interests me most is this: “Industrial revolutions are times of tremendous opportunities for founders of new businesses.” This third one will be blockchain-backed I would predict and we will see some interesting new products in the fintech arena in particular.

 

 

 

Bringing AI and the blockchain together

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn AI, BlockchainLeave a comment

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the major technologies of our time. It has introduced numerous innovations, many of which we are not even aware of as we use apps employing it. The blockchain is the other technological breakthrough that is introducing radical shifts in the way we store information amongst its many other potential uses.

Each of these technologies has its own complexity and business use cases, but what would happen if we brought the two together? There are some interesting possibilities, benefits and challenges arising from coupling them.

The blockchain technology is a “foundational technology” changes the basis of relationships from a centralised model to a decentralised one. It has the potential through the distributed ledger technology (DLT) to “reduce both the costs of verification and networking, influencing then the market structure and eventually allowing the creation of new marketplaces.” It could change business models, because it doesn’t just store information or allow transactions, it can also support smart contracts that operate effortlessly.

AI could change various current aspects of the blockchain. For example, mining new blocks on the blockchain uses a lot of electricity. AI is known to optimise energy consumption, so this is one way in which it could positively affect the blockchain and the mining operations.

It could also solve the blockcian’s scalability issues with the use of an AI sharding technique or decentralised learning system. Security is another major headache for the blockchain. It is supposed to be unhackable, but theft from exchanges like Mt. Gox and Bitfinex show that isn’t the case. AI could come into play here and add another level of security.

Of course, the blockchain may also have an effect on AI. It could help AI explain itself by providing a clear audit trail. It could also make it more effective by supporting better AI models, actions, results and networks. And it could increase artificial trust. For example, where bots manage various tasks, the clear audit trail will help these bots to trust each other more.

So far, we have not seen many companies operating an AI-blockchain convergence, with the majority in the decentralised intelligence sector, although there are a few in conversation platforms, trading, intellectual property and data provenance. But, they are literally a handful, and it is still difficult to assess the potential impact of bringing these two world-changing technologies together.

 

Canadian Bunz gives you BTZ

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn Bitcoin, Blockchain, FintechLeave a comment

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Canada has a tradition of coming up with interesting community-oriented solutions and a report from The Globe and Mail about Bunz, a Toronto-based online barter market, illustrates the kind of innovative thinking that comes out of this country.

The group has launched a cryptocurrency called BTZ (pronounced ‘bits’) for use by its members. BTZ is an acronym for Bunz Trading Zone and it became available to community members on 9th April.

Each member of the barter platform has been given 1,000 BTZ and they can exchange them with each other, or use them to pay for goods and services at the 100 merchants on the Bunz site. It is estimated that the 1,000 BTZ is worth about three or four cups of coffee, but even in this smallish community, the cryptocurrency value can fluctuate.

Sascha Mojtahedi, CEO of Bunz, told the Toronto paper, “We know the technology works … but we haven’t really seen a viable use case that the mass market can get behind. I think we’re going to be the first example of that.”

The Bunz concept started off as a small Facebook group organised by fashion designer Emily Bitze. She was looking for a place to swap unwanted items with friends. Selling items for cash wasn’t part of the idea; it was completely focused on the barter system. As simple as it may sound, it was an idea that took off through word of mouth and by 2016, Bunz had its own website.

However, the lack of cash transactions posed a problem for the enterprise, because without it there was “no obvious income stream” says its CEO. He hopes that by launching the BTZ cryptocurrency, more users will join the platform. As he told Cointelegraph:

“You have to be able to reward people with cryptocurrency that they’ve earned as a result of their passive involvement in the network and then enable them to use it with their peers and merchants. It gives us the room to create new models that people may not have thought of.”

Mojtahedi came from a financial background at the Dominion Bank and it is also notable that Bunz has attracted institutional investors such as Fidelity Investments. Bunz users have completed more than a million transactions, with 2.3 million items currently on offer in more than 200 cities around the world. BTZ from Bunz could be an interesting crypto ecosystem to watch as it develops and we may see other similar schemes emerging in the future.